Count the Shadows
by Lilteeky007
Summary: Kate and her best friend Pikachu lived a normal life until Team Moondusk took over her town. Now she's a member of the resistance and training under a raven haired jerk. Can Kate find her brother and save the world before it's taken over by darkness?
1. The Start of it All

**Before we get to the story I just want to point out that the first few chapters are going to be a little quick paced and this is my first story so please be kind and now we can get to the story. Oh ya I don't own anything pokemon related just the characters.**

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><p>"Pikachu use thunderbolt!" I yelled to my best friend and partner Pikachu.<p>

He quickly followed my command and sent a powerful surge of electricity at the now awakened Darkrai. Darkrai avoided the attack and sent a shadow ball straight toward Pikachu, and I could only stare in horror as the attack hit him directly and threw him against a wall.

"Pikachu!" I yelled as I ran over to my Pokemon.

"It's too late now." Said the voice of a man dressed in black as he commanded Darkrai to finish us off.

But just as the attack was about to hit a boy with black hair that was down past his ears pushed me out of the way. He quickly took out a pokeball and threw it in the air and out came a Charizard. The Charizard spit an ember onto the ground and charged toward Darkrai. I looked over at the boy and saw him give me a reassuring smile though I couldn't really see his face, but I noticed how beautiful his blue eyes were. I looked back down at Pikachu and saw him charging up a thunderbolt and before I knew it I was shocked awake.

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><p>Pikachu's thunderbolt shocked me awake and caused me to fall out of my warm bed. I sent a glare at him and he smiled sweetly at me. That dream felt so real but I shook it off and got ready for my day. I ran down stairs with Pikachu to find both my parent's were gone so we made our own breakfast. I was getting a bowl from the counter when I noticed the newspaper on the table.<p>

"Check this out Pikachu, Team Moondusk is moving farther into the Kanto region." I said to my best friend as I showed him the newspaper.

Pikachu growled and I knew how he felt. Team Moondusk is an evil organization that uses Pokemon for their own gain. They started taking over in the other regions and moved into Kanto recently. Where ever they go they take all the Pokemon of the people in the towns. Because they've taken over so many places, many people have joined the resistance to stop their evil ways. My brother was one of the few people in our town who left a few years ago to help the cause. When he left he took all his Pokemon with him, all except Pikachu who he left to stay with me. That's why I treasure Pikachu so much, he's not just my best friend he's all I have left of my brother. I finished breakfast and went up to my room to brush my teeth. I looked into the mirror and admired my long brown hair as I pulled it into a messy ponytail. My big brown eyes shined back at me as I looked myself over, and was ready to start the day.

"Pika?" Pikachu questioned as I came back downstairs.

"What is it Pikachu?" I asked as he ran to the window and looked out.

I ran up too and saw my mother come running up the front porch. She quickly ran inside and closed the door and locked it behind her.

"Mom?" I asked her as she ran up to my room and started packing my backpack with clothes.

"What's going on?" She didn't answer my question as she ran back down stairs and put food and other supplies in my bag.

"Kate you must leave." She said as she finally looked at me.

"Team Moondusk has come to town and they're taking everyone's Pokemon, you must take Pikachu and run!" She said as she placed Pikachu's pokeball into my bag.

"What, where?" I asked as she handed me the bag and started leading me out the back door with Pikachu following behind.

"You must go to Johto and find your brother. Join the resistance if you have to, find him and he'll keep you safe." She said as she placed a kiss on my forehead.I didn't really understand what was happening but I didn't argue I gave her a hug and ran into the forest behind our house with Pikachu at my heels.

I stopped running after a few minutes and kept a quick pace. I looked back and could see smoke coming from town but I knew I couldn't turn back. I didn't really even know where I was going. The only way to Johto was a boat but I didn't know where I would find one. I also had to be careful to hide Pikachu because most towns were already taken over by Moondusk and if they saw him they'd take him away. I was too lost in my thoughts to notice the person following me and before Pikachu could get my attention I felt a hand grab my shoulder and spin me around. I then found myself face to face with a grunt member of Team Moondusk.

"Where are you going with that Pokemon little girl?" He asked with an evil grin.

He tried to grab Pikachu from my shoulder but he bit him. "So you wanna play it that way huh?" He said as he grabbed a pokeball from his belt.

"Fine, go Luxio!" He yelled as he threw the ball into the air and with a flash of light out came a Luxio. It growled as it showed its fangs. Pikachu jumped off my shoulder ready to battle.

I'd only battled a few times when my brother would have me practice with him, but this wasn't just some practice battle it was the real deal and if I lost it would mean losing my best friend. I knew I had to win so I quickly started with an attack.

"Pikachu use quick attack!" I yelled hoping to get the element of surprise.

My tactic worked as Pikachu got a direct hit sending the Luxio flying before the grunt even had time to react.

"Luxio bite attack go!" He yelled out to his Pokemon as a counter attack.

"Dodge it and use iron tail!" I shouted just before the Luxio got to Pikachu. Pikachu quickly dodged and as its tail glowed from the iron tail it smacked the Luxio back once again. The Luxio cried out in pain as it was knocked out by the second attack.

The grunt yelled in frustration and took out two more pokeballs. He threw them into the air and out came a Nidorino and Nidorina. Two against one wasn't fair at all and I knew Pikachu couldn't take them both on at once.

"Pikachu run!" I yelled as I ran in the other direction with Pikachu following me.

The grunt of course chased after us and I knew I wasn't going to be able to get away. I felt the grunt grab my bag and pull me to the ground. Pikachu tried to shock him but the Nidorino tackled him and then shot a poison sting.

"Pikachu!" I yelled as I tried to get to my now knocked out Pokemon but the grunt pushed me back onto the ground.

I knew it was the end, Pikachu would get taken by Team Moondusk and I would end up in some prison cell for resisting. But just as the grunt was about to tie me up a black orb came flying from the trees and hit the grunt sending him flying. I looked over and saw an Umbreon come running from in the forest followed by a boy with pitch black hair that went a little passed his ears, just like the boy from my dream.

"Umbreon dark pulse!" He ordered and the Umbreon send out a powerful dark pulse knocking out both the Nidorino and Nidorina in one move.

I quickly got up and ran to Pikachu scooping him up in my arms. He was hurt bad and by the looks of it was also poisoned. The boy walked over and pulled a pink berry out of his bag and fed it to Pikachu.

"That's a Pecha Berry, it cures poison but your Pikachu still needs to get to a Pokemon Center." He said as he brushed some hair from his eyes.

"Don't you know you shouldn't wonder around with a Pokemon alone?" He asked looking annoyed. "Go home little girl." He said as he started walking away.

"Wait!" I yelled after him. "I can't go home, Team Moondusk took over and if I go back they'll take Pikachu. Can you please just tell me where I can find a Pokemon Center?" I begged.

He stared at me a while probably deciding whether or not he wanted to help me.

"Come with me." He finally said as he started walking away. I didn't question him, Pikachu needed help and this kid was my only hope.

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><p>We walked for a few hours and as we got out of the forest I saw a town up ahead. It was Cerulean City which was taken over by Moondusk months ago. I knew they would have closed down the Pokemon Center there and I felt a bit of disappointment.<p>

"It's no use, Cerulean was taken months ago. Team Moondusk has probably already shut down the Pokemon Center, and I'm sure they're all over the city." I said as I held back tears, Pikachu looked even worse.

The boy didn't say anything as he took out a Pokeball and returned his Umbreon back inside it.

"Return your Pikachu." He said looking over at me.

"I can't, Pikachu doesn't like his pokeball." I said looking down at Pikachu.

The boy took Pikachu from my arms and unzipped my bag. He then quickly placed Pikachu inside and zipped it up without even caring that Pikachu was hurt and started walking into town. I followed behind not sure where else to go.

"What's your name?" He asked as we walked into the town.

"Kate." I said nervously as we walked past some Moondusk grunts.

"I'm Brian Dean." He said as he glanced at them calmly and kept walking as though it were nothing.

I looked over at him and noticed how much he looked just like the boy from my dream. But what Brian didn't have was the beautiful blue eyes, or the kind personality. I frowned as I looked away.

"So Kate, do you have a last name?" He asked as he looked back over at me.

"It's Leaf." I noticed him frown for a split second and then his face went back to showing no emotion.

"Do you have any siblings?" He questioned even though it almost looked like he already knew the answer.

"Just an older brother." I said as the memories of my brother came flooding back. "He joined the resistance a few years ago." I added as I remembered the day he left me and Pikachu behind. "I'm looking for him actually."

I looked back over to Brian to see him staring at the sky like he was thinking.

"What's his name?" He asked looking back at me though this time I knew for sure he already knew.

"Alec, you knew him." I stated looking into his eyes and saw a blue ring around his pupils.

"Ya actually." He said looking away with another frown. Why was he frowning?

We finally stopped in the back of an alley way and I was about to question Brian's sense of direction when he opened up a secret door that revealed a set of stairs going underground. I followed Brian down and stopped when we reached a metal door at the bottom. Brian lifted up the black pokegear attached to his wrist and I heard a beep as the metal door opened. Once we were inside the door quickly closed behind us.

"This way." He motioned as he walked down another hallway. We finally arrived in a large room filled with computers and people and Pokemon.

"Welcome to the resistance." He said with a smirk.

I gasp as I finally got a look around. The room was round and very large, there were at least 50 other people walking around with clipboards or sitting at a computer typing away. Some were sitting around resting with their Pokemon and others walked by staring and what seemed to be admiring Brian. I looked back over to him to see that he was walking to a desk area at the center of the room.

"Commander sir I'm pleased to report we finally found her." He stated has he saluted the 'Commander'. Her? Did he mean me?

"Nice work Dean." The Commander said as he stood and saluted back. They both put their arms down and smiled at each other.

"Glad to see you made it back in once peace kid." He said as he ruffled Brian's hair.

"Ya well would you expect any less from me?" Brian said back with laughter.

The Commander walked from around his computer and looked over to me. He was really tall and had long brown hair, he couldn't have been that much older than me and Brian.

"I'm Cal nice to meet ya!" He said as he extended his arm for me to shake his hand. I quickly shook it and remembered Pikachu. I opened up my bag and pulled him out.

"My Pikachu is hurt, can you please help him?" I asked hoping since all these Pokemon were there, there would be some place to heal them.

"Whoa!" He gasped as he pressed a red button next to his desk. A Chansey came running up with a stretcher.

"Chansey please take this Pikachu to Nurse Joy to be healed." He said with a smile. The Chansey took Pikachu from my arms and placed him on the stretcher and took him away.

"Don't worry about a thing Nurse Joy will take good care of your Pikachu." I frowned not really sure if I could trust these people but Pikachu needed the help.

"Who are you people? Where are we?" I asked as I looked back over to Cal. He laughed and looked around.

"Isn't it obvious? You're in the Pokemon Resistance base in Cerulean City!" My mouth fell open as I looked around, so Brian was a part of the resistance!

No wonder he had a strong Umbreon. As if on cue Umbreon let it's self out of its pokeball and stretched as if it enjoyed a nice nap. I smiled at how cute it was.

"You're standing in the presence of one of the best agents the rebels have. He's never even lost a battle, not to anyone." He added with a smile. At first I thought he was talking about himself but was surprised when I noticed he was looking over at Brian who didn't look like he wanted to be called that.

"Not the best." He stated as he walked away with Umbreon following behind him. I was about to follow when three girls ran up to me and Cal.

"So you're her huh?" One with short spiked yellow hair said as she looked me over.

"She doesn't look like him to me." Another with long red hair added.

"Aw come on leave her alone, it's not like you've seen him in person anyway." The third one with short blue hair chimed in.

I was so confused I couldn't even think of anything to say other than "What?". They all started asking random questions that I couldn't even begin to answer.

"Now ladies lets leave the poor girl alone, she's been through enough today." Cal said as he pushed the three girls back. They all frowned and walked away. I felt so tired I couldn't even think anymore.

"You must be tired, let me get you a room." Cal said as he led me down another hallway. He stopped at a door and opened it taking my bag from me and setting it on a chair.

"Why don't you get some sleep hm?" He said with a smile and left. I didn't really need to disagree so I climbed into the bed and fell asleep.

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><p><strong>So good or bad? Please let me know what you think and if I should continue. :)<strong>


	2. I'm not a weakling!

**So here's chapter two and just a reminder I don't own Pokemon (Sadly) only the characters that I made up.**

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><p>When I woke up it felt like I had dreamt everything that had happened to me. I glanced around and noticed I wasn't in my own room and knew that it wasn't a dream. I frowned as I got up and left the room to look for Pikachu. I realized I should've just stayed in the room as I got lost in the many hallways. After wandering around a few minutes I almost gave up hope when I heard a familiar voice.<p>

"What are you doing?" Brian asked as I turned around and practically jumped into his arms.

"Thank goodness I found you! I thought I'd be lost in here forever!" I yelled as he tried to shove me off of him.

"Well I went to go get you when I found you weren't in your room. Someone told me they saw you wondering around so I came to find you. I thought you'd like to see someone." He said as Pikachu jumped over his shoulder and into my arms.

"Pikachu you're ok!" I yelled as I hugged my friend close.

"Pika Pikachu!" He said and smiled happily.

"Come on, we need to talk." Brian said as he and Umbreon walked down the hallway.

I followed closely behind afraid to get lost again. We finally reached the big room again but this time it was empty except for Brian, Cal and I.

"There's something we have to tell you." Cal said as Brian and I came to a stop in front of him. "It's about your brother." I looked up surprised.

"So you know him? Is he a part of the resistance? Where is he?" I questioned and looked at them both intently.

"Yes we all know him; your brother was the top agent in the resistance. As to where he is, we don't know. Alec Leaf went missing over a year ago and hasn't been heard from since." Cal stated staring at me firmly.

I felt Pikachu stiffen next to me and I felt like I couldn't breathe. Missing? How could that be? What could have happened to him?

"What happened to him? I asked still stunned by the news.

"He went on a mission a year ago to find the stone of shadows that's said to lead to the whereabouts of Darkrai." Cal said as he pulled up a map of Sinnoh on the big computer screen.

"As soon as he got there we lost communication from him and haven't heard from him since. We think it might have something to do with Team Moondusk but we aren't one hundred percent sure. Team Moondusk would have reasons to take your brother, he's not only one of our best but his Pokemon team is not one to be messed with." He added as he pulled up a page all about my brother.

It showed a picture of him and it showed his team of Pokemon which was an Ampharos, a Charizard, an Empoleon, a Sceptile, a Staraptor, and a Dragonite. They all looked extremely powerful, and to think all I had was Pikachu. If I ever hoped to become as strong as my brother I had to expand my team.

"I'm going to find him." I stated looking down at Pikachu who nodded.

"You can't do that on your own with just a Pikachu and no training, it's stupid." Cal said looking over at me.

"But we can make you a member of the resistance and get you some training. Then if you can become strong enough we'll let you go on bigger missions like that with Brian." Cal finished looking back and forth between us.

"No." Brian simply said. "She'll just get in my way." He said looking over at me. I glared.

"No I won't, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself!" I yelled.

"Prove it." He said. "Battle me." I was a little bit shocked and not sure I could even win but I had to try.

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><p>Next thing I knew I was on a Pokemon battlefield about to face off against Brian who is supposedly unbeatable. Pikachu was out on the field ready for a fight as we waited for Brian to send out a Pokemon, I was surprised he wasn't going to use Umbreon. He reached down and pulled out a pokeball and threw it into the air. From the flash of light came a Charmeleon who spit an ember on the ground as soon as he was released, which reminded me of the Charizard from my dream. Could it really be the same Pokemon? I didn't get much time to think before Brian gave Charmeleon a command.<p>

"Charmeleon use flamethrower!" He ordered and the fire Pokemon opened its mouth and released powerful flames straight toward Pikachu.

"Get out of the way!" I yelled and Pikachu barely avoided the flames. "Use thunderbolt!" Pikachu quickly charged up his electricity and shot it at the Charmeleon who simply stepped out of the way.

"You're going to have to do better than that. Charmeleon metal claw." Brian yelled out.

Before I could think, the Charmeleon slashed Pikachu with its glowing claws sending Pikachu flying. He quickly bounced back in midair as I called another thunderbolt. Pikachu once again shot an electric attack which the fire Pokemon once again avoided. I growled in anger, seeing as I couldn't get one hit in on that Pokemon.

"Use volt tackle!" I ordered hoping Pikachu's speed would be able to stop that Charmeleon.

"Dodge it and use flamethrower!" Brian ordered as Pikachu charged up and ran toward the Charmeleon. Charmeleon quickly jumped out of the way and shot flames at Pikachu causing him to fall and roll into a wall.

"Pikachu! Get up!" I yelled and watched as Pikachu stood up and looked more determined than ever to win.

"Go use iron tail!" I commanded hoping Pikachu could at least get in one hit.

"Block it with metal claw." Just as Pikachu was about to hit him Charmeleon used its metal claw to block and grabbed Pikachu's tail and threw him across the field. Pikachu hit the ground hard and was barely able to stand up. Brian withdrew Charmeleon and walked away.

"Where are you going!" I yelled after him.

"This battle is over, I've seen all I needed to." He said as his walked away with Umbreon close behind not even taking a look back.

I ran over to Pikachu who was exhausted and noticed the large crowed that had formed around the field.

"That was a great battle!" The girl with the yellow hair from before yelled as she ran up to me.

"No one's Pokemon has ever taken that many hits from Brian's Pokemon and kept going!" The girl with blue hair added.

"Ya your Pikachu's really strong! I guess you are related to him." The girl with red hair added. I smiled at their compliments even thought I basically lost.

"Wait you mean my brother? You knew him?" I asked as I realized that a lot of people knew of Alec.

"Well not personally but we all know of him." Said the girl with red hair.

"Why is he really popular or something?" I questioned.

"Well of course, he's the top member of the resistance. I'm April." The girl with yellow hair stated as she put her hand out which I shook.

"I'm May." The one with blue hair said with a smile.

"And I'm June." The redhead happily finished.

"We're triplets!" They all three chirped at the same time. Well that was going to get confusing.

We went to get Pikachu healed and as we waited the triplets told me about my brother.

"You're a lucky girl to be related to someone like Alec Leaf." June said with a sigh.

"Ya lucky me." I said with a frown. I had no idea Alec was so idolized.

"He's completed every mission given to him perfectly and from what I hear hasn't lost a battle in years. But of course he's becoming old news." April said with a smirk.

"Why's that?" I asked partially offended by her statement.

"Well Brian Dean of course." May said quietly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Ever since Alec went missing Brian's been the top dog." April explained and the other two nodded.

"Ya but even in a battle it's obvious Alec would win." She added and the other two nodded again.

"Right, because even though Brian's strong Alec's been a trainer longer. He's also wiser and more experience and of course lets not forget how powerful his pokemon are!" June said with a smile. It was obvious she had a crush on my brother which I found weird to even think about.

"So it's no wonder the resistance would want to bring you here, I'm sure a lot of his enemies would be after you." April stated but then gasped. I guess I wasn't supposed to know that.

"Wait, what?" I asked looking over at her not sure I heard right.

"That's why I'm here? That's why they wanted to make me a member?" I was a little scared because I didn't even think of all the enemies Alec probably made over the years that could easily use me to get to him. But I was also a little mad that Brian or Cal didn't tell me. I walked off before I yelled at anyone and decided I should be alone.

I sat outside watching the sunset wondering how a weakling like me who has to be protected could be related to a powerful trainer like Alec.

"You're an idiot you know that?" I looked up and saw Brian walking over with Umbreon following behind. I glared over at him not really in the mood to put up with his crap.

"Go away." I mumbled looking down at the dirt.

"You can't be upset about losing, you should've known I would win." He said with a smirk. He sat down next to me and I looked away from him.

"I'm not mad about losing, and I'm guessing the triplets told you what they said to me." I said with a frown.

"Ya they did, so why are you mad? Because I didn't tell you? Because it looks to me like you'd have been better off not knowing." He was right, but I didn't want to admit it.

"So then just say it. I'm too weak to take care of myself so you have to babysit me!" I yelled standing up. He just sat there for a minute.

"Alright it's true, I got stuck making sure nothing happens to you, but you're not weak." He said looking over at me making me blush. I looked into his eyes and noticed the blue ring around them again.

"You wear contacts." I stated looking at them more carefully. I laughed as Brian tried to look at his own eyes.

"I barely notice these things, sometimes I forget I'm wearing them." He said as he took them out and looked over at me. Then I saw it, his beautiful bright blue eyes shining back at me. I then knew that Brian was the boy in my dream.

"I…. I had a dream about you." I said as I was dazed by his eyes.

"Well that's weird considering you've only known me for a day." He said as he raised an eyebrow.

"No it was before I met you." I said very confused. I noticed his eyes go wide and back to normal in an instant as he laughed to himself.

"You know it could have been anyone" He stated looking into my eyes.

"Why do you wear brown contacts?" I asked changing the subject.

"Well my blue eyes are too noticeable, if anyone from Team Moondusk sees them then they might know who I am." He explained.

"What the boy prodigy?" I mocked.

"If that's what you want to call me kid." He said standing up.

"Don't call me kid you're probably not even older than me!" I yelled.

"What are you 16?" He asked with a hint of humor. I nodded.

"Well then I've got you beat, I'm 17." He said with a smirk as he started walking away making me even more mad.

"Oh ya before I forget, here." He said as he tossed a pokeball over his shoulder which I caught.

"A gift from Cal, welcome to the resistance." He said with a smile as he and Umbreon walked away. I looked down at the pokeball in my hands wondering what kind of Pokemon could be inside.

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><p><strong>So what kind of Pokemon could it be? :O <strong>

**Reviews please :)**


	3. Test of strength

**Chapter 3 is now up which took me forever to write. I don't own Pokemon blah blah blah. On with the story!**

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><p>"So you got a new Pokemon?" May asked as I walked back inside holding the new pokeball. I nodded my head.<p>

"Well what is it?" June asked with a smile. I shrugged my shoulders not yet knowing what Pokemon was inside.

"Then how about we try it out?" Asked April with a grin. I smiled and nodded once again.

So there I was once again on the battle field this time up against April. I probably could've guessed what her Pokemon was so it wasn't a surprise when she sent out a Jolteon. As soon as it was released from it's pokeball it shot out its spikes and smirked at me, well if Pokemon could smirk. I took out my new pokeball and threw it up into the air and out of the flash of light came a Growlithe. It cried out its name as soon as it was released and looked over at me.

"Hi Growlithe, looks like I'm your new trainer." I said with a smile hoping my new Pokemon wouldn't hate me. He stared at me for a while and didn't seem to mind me being his new trainer as he looked across the field at the Jolteon waiting for a battle. Growlithe stood up and faced his opponent ready for the fight which meant I was too.

"Growlithe use flamethrower!" I ordered as I thought of all the moves a Growlithe can learn. He quickly opened his mouth and shot flames straight toward the Jolteon.

"Dodge it with quick attack!" April yelled out to her Pokemon. The Jolteon quickly ran out of the path of the flames and charged straight into Growlithe. Growlithe quickly bounced back as I ordered a quick attack of my own which he managed to execute perfectly knocking Jolteon back a few feet.

"Not bad for your guys' first battle." April said with a confident smirk.

"Thanks, Growlithe use flame wheel!" I yelled out and he ran toward Jolteon and engulfed himself in flames. Jolteon was easily able to avoid the attack as April yelled out another quick attack. I ordered another flamethrower which the Jolteon also avoided. I was going to have to find a way around her Jolteon's speed.

"Jolteon use pin missile!" April commanded and Jolteon sent spiked toward Growlithe was knocked back by the attack.

"Get out of there and use flamethrower!" I ordered and Growlithe was barely able to get away from the attack and shoot out flames which actually hit Jolteon. That was how I was going to beat it, I had to wait for Jolteon to attack first!

"Jolteon show them the power of your electric attacks!" April commanded and Jolteon charged up a thunderbolt and sent it toward Growlithe.

I didn't have time to think as Growlithe was hit by the attack. I gasped as I panicked not knowing what to do as Growlithe fell to the ground. Jolteon then hit Growlithe with another pin missile knocking him back. I could only stare at my Pokemon who was having trouble standing up waiting for me to tell him what to do but I couldn't think.

"Calm down." I heard a voice say. I looked over to see Brian on the sidelines watching the battle. He nodded and I took a deep breath, for some reason seeing him there rooting for me cleared my mind. I focused my attention back to the battle as April called another thunderbolt.

"Dodge and use flamethrower!" I yelled at the last second. Growlithe jumped out of the way and shot flames at Jolteon hitting it straight on and knocking it out.

I yelled out in joy as I ran over to my Pokemon and gave him a hug.

"Welcome to the team!" I said with a smile.

"Growlithe Growl!" He replied while licking my face and I knew I had made a new friend.

"Your timing was bad." Brian said as he walked over to me and Growlithe.

"You're just lucky Jolteon can't take much damage or you would've lost." He finished.

"Well thanks for your criticism Mr. know it all." I replied with a glare.

"Nice battle." April said as she walked up with her sisters behind her. She put her hand out which I happily shook.

"Let's do it again some time." I said with a smile.

"No way battle me!" May jumped in.

"No me, I'm a much better trainer than them!" June stated. They all started arguing as me and Brian quietly snuck away from the argument.

"So do you really think I did that bad?" I asked as we walked outside.

"Well you and your Pokemon weren't well coordinated but that's to be expected from your first battle together. But the way you froze up was just a lack of skill and practice." He stated as he sat down on a bench and Umbreon jumped onto his lap. I frowned.

"Well maybe you could teach me?" I asked looking over at him hoping he'd agree.

"Maybe." Was all he replied as he stroked Umbreon's back. I heard footsteps and looked up to see Cal walking over to us.

"There you two are, I saw that battle Kate you really are your brother's sister." He said with a smile and held out a pink pokegear which I slowly took from his hand.

"You're officially in the resistance now, you passed the test." He said with a smirk. So battling April was a test?

"We had to see how you do in a battle with a Pokemon other than Pikachu and you did quite well, a little rough around the edges, but well." He added as Pikachu came running out and jumped into my arms.

"Hey buddy, feeling better?" I asked and he nodded with a smile.

"So now that you're a part of our team you need the right training and Brian's already offered to give it to you." Cal said while looking over at Brian who was blushing.

"Oh did he?" I said with a smirk making him blush more.

"I figured since I was going to get stuck babysitting you I didn't want your weakness slowing me down." He said sounding mad as he got up and left with Umbreon close behind. Cal and I simply laughed at his childish behavior, so much for his cool guy act.

"So let me explain that pokegear." Cal said as I put it on my wrist.

"It's your entrance to any resistance base and has information on just about every member of the resistance. It also has a built in pokedex and a communicator that lets you keep in contact with the resistance. There are also maps of every region. There are other things in there but I'll let you discover them for yourself." He said while I tried to register everything he said.

There really was a lot in one device. I opened it and turned on the pokedex and pointed it at Pikachu and information on him came onto the screen. It had the pokedex description of Pikachu and also listed all of my Pikachu's moves. Cal showed me how to work some of the things on the pokegear and after an hour or so we called it a night and headed to bed.

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><p>The next morning I was woken up by a loud knock at my door. "Time to get up, your training starts today." Brian said as he let himself in.<p>

I groaned not wanting to leave the comfort of the bed. I was then hit by a water gun causing me to fall out of the bed and onto the floor. I looked up and glared at what was apparently Brian's Croconaw.

"You're not going to get any stronger by sleeping." He said as he walked out of the room leaving me soaking wet.

I went to the cafeteria after drying off and changing to get some food. I saw the triplets sitting at a table and went to join them.

"So you start training with Brian today huh?" April asked as I sat down. I nodded.

"You're so lucky to be training with the great Brian." June said with envy.

"I guess if you want to call it luck." I said as I dug into my eggs.

"Of course it's luck, he's hot!" She chirped causing me to choke on my food.

"Well I mean if you get past his terrible personality he's not ugly." I said as Pikachu ate some of my pancakes.

"Who?" Brian asked as he sat down next to June who looked like she was about to pass out from excitement that he was sitting next to her.

"Um, Cal." I quickly lied looking away.

"You think Cal has a terrible personality and isn't ugly?" Brian asked with sarcasm catching my lie. I just nodded as I kept eating as I tried not to make eye contact.

The rest of our meal was eaten in awkward silence. Lucky it ended quickly and we were off to start my first day of training. I was very surprised to find that it wasn't my Pokemon we were training.

"Pokemon are only as good as their trainer." Brian said as he led me into a gym. This place had everything.

"So we're going to be working out?" I asked with a hint of humor.

"No." Brian said as he walked to the far end of the room and stopped when he reached a matted area. He then turned around and looked at me.

"Team Moondusk doesn't play fair. They don't always rely on Pokemon battle's, sometimes they just use their own fighting abilities. So today we're training you to fend for yourself." He stated. I started at him for a minute and realized he wasn't kidding.

"So, come at me with everything you've got." He said with a smirk. I didn't need him to tell me twice as I ran up to him and tried to kick him but he simply stepped back causing me to miss. I tried again but with the same result. I glared at him as he simply smirked at my failure.

"Well don't you have to tell me what I'm doing wrong?" I mocked thinking he was only doing this to make me look dumb.

"Well everything you're doing is wrong I wouldn't know where to start." He replied in a smug tone. I glared and tried to punch him but he grabbed my wrist and flipped me on to the ground and leaned on top of me.

"Well for starters you're leaving yourself open to an attack." He said with his face only inches from mine.

It must have bothered me more than him as I started to blush from the closeness. Noticing my discomfort he got up and put out his hand to help me up but I ignored it and helped myself. I looked over and saw Pikachu and Umbreon were playing by the weight machines and smiled. At least they were getting along. I looked back over to Brian and glared.

"Lets go again." I stated. We kept training for a few more hours and decided to call it quits and actually train our Pokemon.

"So what are all of your Pokemon?" I asked Brian as I let Growlithe out of his pokeball to train with Pikachu.

"You don't need to know." He stated as he gave Umbreon a pokeblock. I glared at his rude comment.

"Sure I do, if we're going to be partners don't you think I should know you better?" I asked as I gave some pokeblocks to my Pokemon.

"You're not my partner. I'm just making sure you don't do anything stupid and get yourself into trouble." He said looking over at me causing me to frown. He copied my expression when he realized what he said.

"So lets get to training." He said trying to change the subject. "You want to see my Pokemon don't you?" He asked with a smirk. I looked over at him and smiled. I couldn't wait to see all the Pokemon he had.

He reached down to his belt and pulled out his pokeballs and threw them into the air. From the first one came his Charmeleon which spit an ember onto the ground like he always did. The second was a Croconaw which cried out it's name upon being released enjoying the fresh air. The third was a Scizor that stood tall and proud. His last Pokemon amazed me. I was shocked to see a giant Tyranitar be released from the pokeball and roar loudly as it stretched its muscles. It was strange that he only had five Pokemon since trainers can carry six. I figured since he had been a trainer for so long he'd have more.

Pikachu and Growlithe were eager to make new friends and ran over to play with all of Brian's Pokemon who were happy to see new faces. We spent the rest of the afternoon just spending time with our Pokemon and not even training. Being in the resistance didn't seem that bad after all, boy was I wrong.

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><p><strong>This chapter didn't turn out how I really wanted it to but it'll have to do. Reviews would be nice, I could use the constructive criticism. :)<strong>


	4. A new friend, and enemy?

**Chapter 4 was very hard to write for some reason but I finally got it. I'd like to thank musa lover for your review! Also thanks for letting me know about my errors I wasn't really paying attention to their names so thanks for pointing it out, I guess my hands work faster than my brain. :P And to answer your question I haven't really decided what Kate's other Pokemon are going to be, I think it'll come to me as the story progresses. I actually was considering a Sandshrew because I'm a fan of Sandslash so it would at some point evolve but hey at least it'll be in there! ;) Now that I'm done rambling on, here's the story.**

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><p>I spent the next few weeks training not only my Pokemon but also myself. I had become a much better trainer and the Cerulean resistance base became my home away from home. April, May and June were always eager to battle to help me train and of course Brian was there critiquing every move I made. The time finally came when I was able to go out on a mission.<p>

"Well Kate you've sure come far since the first day you arrived here." Cal said with a proud smile. I grinned back happy with his compliment.

"Now lets see how you do out on the field. Well with Brian with you of course." He added looking over at Brian who was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed.

He wasn't very happy when he learned he was stuck with me doing small missions. He was used to doing big dangerous missions so babysitting me was probably the last thing he wanted to do.

"Well it's not a hard task. All you're doing is delivering a package to the commander of Fuchsia City." He said as he handed me a small square box which Brian quickly snatched from my hands and placed in his bag. This was going to be a long trip.

Despite Brian's terrible attitude I was actually pretty excited to go on the mission. I'd never been that far from my home town before, so traveling through Kanto was really exciting for me. I wasn't going to let Brian ruin it for me so I kept a positive attitude.

As we started walking into the forest toward Fuchsia I heard a familiar voice, I turned around to see April, May and June waving good bye to us. Me and Pikachu smiled and waved while Brian and Umbreon kept on walking.

"Say hey to our brother and sister for us!" April yelled out. "You'll know who they are!" She finished just as we were no longer in hearing distance. I finished waving and looked down at Pikachu.

"They must have siblings in Fuchsia." I said to Pikachu and he nodded. "Hm, she said we'll know who they are. I wonder what she meant by that." I wondered out loud while Pikachu jumped down from my shoulder to walk with Umbreon. The two had become pretty good friends in the past few weeks.

We walked for a few hours then took a break and after a little bit of rest Brian insisted we keep going. By the time we stopped to make camp I was too tired to even help set up which left Brian to do it all. He was pretty upset and grumpy by the time everything was done so I tried to make myself useful by cooking dinner. Pikachu laughed at my failed attempt as I burnt our dinner. Brian sighed and took over. I was starting to think I was completely useless. If it wasn't for Brian I didn't think I would even make it to Vermilion City let alone all the way to Fuchsia.

After we ate we decided to go straight to bed. I was tired from the long day and ready to sleep when I realized me and Brian were going to be sharing a tent. I sat down on my sleeping bag and realized just how close we'd be sleeping together.

"_Calm down Kate." _I told myself. "_It's not like you're actually sleeping in the same bed, just next to each other." _I only made myself worry more with my thoughts when Brian snapped me out of it.

"What's wrong now?" He asked looking annoyed.

"Nothing." I quickly said sounding nervous. He sighed and then looked over at me and smirked.

"The fact that we'll be sleeping next to each other doesn't bother you does it?" He asked with a hint of humor.

"N-No!" I stuttered blushing.

"Really not even the fact that our faces will only be inches apart the whole night?" He asked leaning closer to me. I backed away now scared as I realized just what I had gotten myself into. I was traveling around alone in the wilderness with a boy I haven't even known that long. What was I thinking? Luckily Pikachu saved me as he stepped in front of Brian with a glare.

"Relax I was just kidding." Brian said with a laugh. "Look don't worry about it, I'll sleep facing one way and you sleep facing the other. We won't have to look at each other and it'll be like I'm not even here. We'll even have our Pokemon sleep in between us." Just as he said it Umbreon sat down right in between our sleeping bags and curled up ready to sleep.

I breathed a sigh of relief as Pikachu did the same. Brian quickly kept to his word as he turned over and went to sleep facing away from me. I did the same but knowing he was there still bothered me and after a few hours of laying there I finally fell asleep.

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><p>The next morning I woke to an empty tent. I sat up in panic as I realized everyone was gone even Pikachu. I quickly got dressed and ran out of the tent to find Brian and the two Pokemon staring into the forest.<p>

"What are you-" I didn't get to finish my question as Brian placed a hand over my mouth. Pikachu and Umbreon hunched down ready to attack whatever was coming our way. I stared in fear at the spot all the others had their attention focused to when a Pidgey flew out of the trees and into the sky. Brian released his hold on me and I burst out laughing.

"Oh no look out it's a wild Pidgey." I mocked as I continued to laugh. Brian still looked uneasy and he had good reason as we heard a branch snap behind some bushes.

Pikachu quickly sent a thunderbolt at whatever was behind the bush. I could tell the attack hit the target as the yelp of what sounded to be a boy came from behind the bushes. Before I knew it a boy who looked to be about mine and Brian's age came crawling from out of the bushes. He was really tall, probably even taller than Brian. He had shaggy caramel colored hair and green eyes to go with it.

"That Pikachu of yours has got quite the shock." He said with a smile as he stood up.

"And who are you?" Brian asked with a glare.

"The name's Caleb." He said as he walked over getting a growl from both Pikachu and Umbreon causing him to stop in his tracks.

"No worries, I'm one of you." He said holding up his arm to show us the blue pokegear attached to his wrist.

"So what base are you from?" I questioned not sure if we could trust him.

"Fuchsia." He said with a grin. "You can look me up." Brian was way ahead of him.

"He checks out." Brian said as he looked over to me with a look of disbelief.

"Kate." I said holding my hand out to Caleb which he happily shook.

"It's very nice to meet you Kate." He said staring into my eyes. I quickly looked away feeling a little embarrassed. "You're Brian Dean." He added looking over at Brian who had a look of surprise.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"Those blue eyes are famous." He said as he stared at Brian. Brian growled and quickly went into the tent to what I assumed was put in his contacts.

"I didn't mean to make him mad." Caleb said with a frown.

"Don't feel to bad, he's always angry." I stated looking over to the tent.

"Wow your Pikachu is well taken care of." He said as he bent down to pet Pikachu.

"Thanks, I think." I watched as he pulled out a pokeblock and gave it to Pikachu.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out as it happily ate another pokeblock while Caleb scratched the place behind his ear that made him melt. I thought I was the only one who knew about that spot, well other than my brother.

"Wow you're like a Pikachu professional." I joked.

"Well I would hope so, I do have one of my own." He said with a smile looking over at me. My eyes lit up as I gasped.

"Really? I've never met another Pikachu before!" I chirped with excitement.

"Do you want to meet him?" He asked with a grin. I nodded my head.

Caleb pulled out a pokeball and tossed it in the air. From the flash of light came a Pikachu. It looked exactly like my Pikachu but mine was smaller so I was easily able to tell the two apart.

"He's so cute!" I squealed as I bent down to pet the new Pikachu. What can I say I'm a sucker for Pikachu's.

The two Pikachu's quickly became friends and started playing together.

"So how strong is yours?" Caleb asked with a smirk.

"Wanna find out?" I challenged.

"Not here he won't." Brian said walking out of the tent, his eyes once again brown. I frowned not because we couldn't battle but because I already missed his shining blue eyes. Not many people had that distinctive color which is probably why they were so notable.

"Why not?" I asked glaring at him ignoring my last thoughts.

"Because you could draw attention." He stated as he started packing up our little camp.

"He's right, battling here would be pretty stupid." Caleb agreed looking over at Brian. For a split second his expression was one of anger but it quickly went back to a smile.

"So where are you guy's headed?" He asked looking back over to me.

"Fuchsia." I stated. "You?" I questioned.

"Hey I'm on my way to Vermilion City, looks like we're headed in the same direction." He said with a big grin.

"Fascinating. Let's go." Brian said walking over and standing next to me. He gave me a look that I'm sure meant he didn't want to be anywhere near this guy for another second. I sent him a look that said get over it. He just glared.

"We could travel together for a while." I said with a smile. I looked over and smirked at Brian who gave me an even bigger glare.

"Alright then lets go." Caleb said as he started walking. I picked up my stuff and followed behind. Brian and all the Pokemon followed after. I could tell this was going to be an exciting walk.

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><p><strong>So it was a little bit shorter than the other chapters, but this one was really only to introduce Caleb. I like reviews, they make my world go round ;)<strong>


	5. Rolling out the Sandshrew!

**Ok I really had some trouble writing this one but I finally did it. Thanks Taz1995 for your kind words :)**

** Oh I don't own Pokemon and on with the story.**

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><p>We walked together for a while and I noticed that being around Caleb was actually a lot nicer than Brian. For one he actually talked to me, and everything he said was nice. It was like the guy didn't have a single mean bone in his body. Both of our Pikachu's were getting along great and even Umbreon was having fun with them. The only one who looked like he wasn't having a good time was Brian.<p>

"So why are you traveling around with Brian Dean of all people?" Caleb asked as a group of Butterfree flew past making me smile.

"It's a long story." I said looking over at Brian who was walking ahead of everyone else staring at his pokegear. I assumed he was looking at a map but I couldn't really think of why he would need one.

"So what made you join the resistance?" He asked.

"I'm looking for my brother." I said frowning. I realized in all the time I'd spent training and the new mission who knew what's happening to my brother.

"Did something happen to him?"

"I don't really know." I said as Pikachu jumped on my shoulder and tried to comfort me.

"Sorry for asking." Caleb said.

"Don't be, you were just curious." I said trying to smile.

We suddenly came to a halt when Brian stopped in front of a cave.

"This is where we part ways." He said looking down at his pokegear.

"What are you talking about we're supposed to keep going through the forest to Vermilion." I stated.

"We're taking a short cut through this cave. It'll lead us straight to Celadon and save us a days walk." He said looking up at us. I frowned and looked over at Caleb who shrugged his shoulders. Part of me was thinking Brian was only taking this short cut to get away from Caleb.

"I guess I'll see you around. I still expect that battle you know." Caleb said and I frowned. Even though I just met the guy we already became friends and with him around I actually had someone to talk to.

"See you around." I said looking up at him.

He hugged me and I heard Brian sigh. I let go of Caleb and glared at Brian. Caleb laughed and his Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder. With a wave good bye he was gone into the forest. I sighed already missing his presence.

"Don't tell me you like that guy." Brian said with an annoyed tone.

"I barely know him of course I don't." I said looking at the ground. I didn't… did I? I wasn't really even sure.

"Whatever, lets just go." Brian said snapping me out of my thoughts as he walked into the cave. I ran after him knowing if I lost him I'd never find my way out of that cave.

It was completely dark inside and I could barely see where I was walking.

"Pikachu think you could give us some light?" I asked my friend and he quickly used his electricity to light the cave. I smiled and thanked him.

It was then that I noticed a rock off to the side that was shaking. It then started moving toward us at a fast speed. I jumped out of the way at the last second as whatever it was rolled past me.

"What is that thing?" I asked as Brian turned around just as whatever it was came rolling back.

We jumped out of the way again and it turned around and came right back. I knew it had to be a Pokemon of some kind so I lifted up my pokegear hoping it would identify the creature. Sure enough the pokedex identified the thing as a Sandshrew. I'm guessing Brian did the same when I saw his pokegear aimed at it too.

"Why is that Sandshrew attacking us?" I asked looking over at Brian just as the Pokemon came rolling past again shooting up dirt and rocks as it flew by.

I covered my eyes and when I looked back up the Sandshrew was headed straight for me. But just as it was about to hit me a water gun knocked it away. I looked over to see Croconaw standing next to Brian who sighed when I looked up him. I wasn't sure if that sigh was because I disappointed him or if it was a sigh of relief. I didn't get long to think when the Sandshrew stood up with a frown.

"It's weird, Sandshrew in the wild aren't so offensive usually they run away from a fight." Brian said with a look of confusion.

"Maybe it did belong to someone, a lot of Pokemon get released back into the wild because of Team Moondusk." I said looking over at the Sandshrew that was now glaring at us.

It must have known it couldn't win against us so it used screech. The loud noise was deafening as we all reached up to cover our ears. It was so much Pikachu couldn't keep up his flash and it went dark. When the screech stopped Pikachu was once again able to light up the cave and when I could see again there was a Sandslash standing in between us. It shrieked out its name and started stopping the ground. The ground shook so much I couldn't even stand anymore and fell to the ground.

"I didn't know Sandslash in the wild could learn earthquake!" I yelled over to Brian who was also on the ground.

"They can't, this Sandslash must have belonged to someone!" He yelled back as rocks started falling from the roof of the cave.

"That crazy Pokemon is going to bring the whole cave down. Croconaw use water gun!" Brian commanded.

Croconaw shot a water gun at the Sandslash causing it to fly into a wall. With a loud crack tons of rocks came falling down from above. I quickly ducked down and covered my head hoping I wouldn't get crushed by any of the falling rocks. When all of the shaking was finally over I looked up to darkness.

"Pikachu!" I yelled hoping my friend wasn't crushed under the ruble. "Pikachu!" I yelled again with no response. I got up and searched around for anyone.

"Brian!" I shouted hoping someone would hear me and shout back.

"Kate are you ok?" I heard Brian yell from behind a huge wall of rocks. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think so, but I can't find Pikachu!" I yelled back.

"He's over here, but I don't know where the Sandslash or Sandshrew went!" He yelled as I grabbed a flashlight from my bag. I turned it on and pointed it around looking for some way out when I saw the Sandslash. I gasped.

"T-That's because they're over here!" I yelled out to Brian as the Pokemon tried to hit me with a rollout. I screamed and jumped out of the way.

"Kate run!" I heard Brian yell, I figured he had heard my scream. He didn't have to tell me twice as I got up and ran using my flashlight to lead the way.

The Sandslash came rolling by me knocking me off my feet. Realizing I couldn't run from it I turned off my light and ducked behind a large rock. I heard the Sandslash roll by and sighed when I could no longer hear it. But I did hear hard breathing. I turned on my light in the direction of the noise and saw the Sandshrew from earlier curled up in a ball. I walked over to it and noticed it was hurt. I pulled a potion out of my bag and tried to help it but it wouldn't come out of the ball.

"I just want to help you." I pleaded as I tried to get the Pokemon out of the ball. It simply curled up tighter ignoring my comment.

"Come on quit being a baby!" I yelled at it. He came out of his ball and bit my arm. I assumed he didn't like being called a baby. Even though it hurt I took advantage of the moment. While he kept his mouth on my arm I took out the potion and sprayed him with it. He released my arm and stared at me for a minute. He then looked himself over to make sure he was perfectly healed before curling into a ball and rolling away.

"You're welcome!" I yelled after him. "You ungrateful little rodent." I muttered to myself as I looked down at my bite mark. It wasn't too bad but I was probably going to need to have someone look at it. I reached over to grab my flashlight when I noticed it wasn't where I left it. Then I saw a light and looked over and saw the little Sandshrew stole my flashlight.

"Give that back!" I yelled as I ran after him. He quickly turned around and ran away. I chased him for a while till I lost him in the caves.

"_Well this is just great, now I'm lost and I don't have my flashlight." _I thought to myself. _"It's all that Sandshrew's fault, this is what I get for trying to be nice." _I gave up and sat on a rock. Then I heard a cry. It sounded like the Sandshrew and as much as I was mad at him I couldn't ignore it. I ran in the direction of the cry and saw the little Pokemon running from a giant Graveler that didn't look too happy.

Just as the Graveler was about to crush Sandshrew I quickly grabbed him and rolled out of the way.

"Well that was close." I said looking down at him as he just stared at me.

"Don't worry I won't let anything happen to you." I said as I smiled at him. The Graveler wasn't done as it came running back toward us. I quickly sent out Growlithe, knowing he didn't stand a chance but I had to try.

"Hurry use flamethrower!" I ordered as Growlithe followed my command. The attack didn't hurt the Graveler but kept it from getting any closer. I knew Growlithe couldn't keep up the attack forever so I looked around trying to find some way of distracting the Pokemon.

"Stay here!" I yelled to them as I ran the other way.

"Hey ugly! Over here!" I yelled at the Graveler and threw a rock at it, it then turned it's attention from the two Pokemon over to me. I realized that probably wasn't the best idea as the large Pokemon came chasing after me. I closed my eyes as I was about to be hit but opened them when I noticed I wasn't crushed. I looked up to see Brian, Pikachu, Umbreon, and Croconaw running over to me.

"Thank god you didn't get yourself killed." He said with a sigh of relief which was very unlike him. He looked over to the knocked out Graveler as Sandshrew and Growlithe came running over to join our little group.

"You just keep getting into mess after mess don't you?" He asked sounding annoyed changing back to his old self.

"These things just tend to happen." I said with a grin.

Sandshrew jumped into my arms and smiled up at me. It looked like he was thanking me for helping him...twice. He looked down at where he bit me and licked it which hurt but it meant he was sorry. I smiled down at him.

"Well as nice as this little make up is, we should go before that giant bolder wakes up." Brian said walking away. We all followed behind him.

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><p>"We're finally out!" I yelled to the sky for no reason in particular as we finally walked out of the cave and as my eyes adjusted to the light I saw Celadon just over a hill. Sandshrew jumped around in joy but stopped when we heard rumbling. I looked over to see the Sandslash from earlier jump out of the ground. Sandshrew ran over to it and they hugged each other. The two Pokemon started talking and after a while Sandshrew came running back over to me and hugged my leg.<p>

"Looks like he wants to come along with you." Brian said looking down at the Pokemon. I looked at Sandshrew and he nodded. I looked back over at the Sandslash who also nodded and stared at me. I figured it was telling me to take care of Sandshrew and I nodded back.

"Welcome to the team!" I said as I hugged my new Sandshrew. He jumped in joy as I pulled out a pokeball and he was pulled inside. The ball shook a few times and stopped.

"I caught my first Pokemon!" I shouted and Pikachu cheered with me.

"I wouldn't say you caught it, he willingly jumped into the ball." Brian said being negative as always.

"But not bad kid." He added with a smirk.

"I told you to stop calling me that!" I yelled at him as he started walking off toward Celadon.

"Ya ya." He muttered as he just kept walking with me chasing after him.

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><p><strong>Aw aren't they cute! :P Please review, it would make Brian happy... if he had emotions...<strong>


	6. Happy National Pokemon Day!

**Happy fourth of July! In celebration here's chapter 6! I made it a filler since I couldn't think of anything for a real interesting chapter. This one is also a little different so I hope it doesn't throw you off :P I don't own pokemon and here's the chapter.**

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><p>We finally made it to Celadon and I was very relieved. It was one of the few big cities left in Kanto that was still free from Team Moondusk. I smiled as Pikachu and Umbreon were free to walk out in the open streets.<p>

Since Celadon was free it didn't have a hidden resistance base but it did have a Pokemon Center. We got rooms there and dropped off our Pokemon for a rest. I was glad I wasn't going to be sleeping in the woods again. I was mostly glad I'd be getting my own room.

I was sitting in my room flipping through my pokegear when I got a message on my pokegear from Caleb.

"_Did you make it to Celadon ok? I hope you and Brian didn't kill each other." _I laughed at his message.

_"We made it here alright, and don't worry we're both in one piece. For now." _I responded.

I jumped as I heard a knock on my door and Brian walked in.

"Who are you talking to?" He asked looked down at the pokegear in my hand. He narrowed his eyes, probably because he figured it was Caleb.

"April." I lied. I didn't want him getting mad. His expression changed but I could tell he didn't believe me.

"Come on." He said as he walked out of the room. I followed since I didn't have much else to do.

We walked into town and I smiled at all the shops and restaurants. Most cities weren't even allowed to sell Pokemon merchandise because of Moondusk so it was fun to see it all. I looked over at Brian and he gave me a look that I assumed meant I was free to shop. I smiled and ran off.

The first store I looked at had all sorts of clothes. I only looked at them since I couldn't really carry anymore clothes with me. The next store had tons of snacks for Pokemon. I smiled and walked in. I was glad mom had put money in my bag before she sent me off so I quickly went to find some good treats for my Pokemon.

After the food store I found my way to a jewelry store. I stared in aw at all the amazing handcrafted bracelets and necklaces, even earrings. I stopped at one bracelet in particular. It was a charm bracelet with a Pikachu on it. I smiled and picked it up. I looked it over and admired just how perfect the Pikachu looked and it reminded me of my friend at the Pokemon Center missing out on the fun stores. I felt bad and put the bracelet down and ran back to the Pokemon Center.

After picking up my Pokemon I decided to stop for lunch. I found an Eeveeloution themed restaurant and figured it would work. I walked inside and saw none other than Brian sitting at a table but he wasn't alone. I frowned when I saw a girl sitting with him. She had long purple hair and from what I saw was very pretty. Pikachu gave me a questioning look when I stopped in my tracks.

I'm not sure why but I quickly hid behind a plant dragging Pikachu with me so we wouldn't be seen. It wasn't like I cared if Brian was with a girl while I wondered around Celadon alone… did I? Of course not! I was having plenty of fun without him after all I did ditch him. And besides, his bad attitude would've only ruined my day. But why was I hiding behind a plant spying on him. It couldn't be that I liked him. My frown deepened as I pondered my thoughts. No of course not, I couldn't like that jerk. I was just hungry and it made me think crazy thoughts.

I looked up and saw Brian was no longer with that girl but was replaced with some other boy with black hair.

"What are you doing?" Brian asked from behind me. I jumped and shrieked like a small girl.

He sighed as I turned around with an awkward smile. I couldn't really think of anything to say mostly because I wasn't even sure myself as to what I was doing. I quickly stood up.

"I dropped my earring…" I said trying to avoid eye contact.

"You're not wearing earrings." He stated. "Whatever I don't even want to know." He said before I could respond.

"Have you eaten yet?" He asked and I shook my head.

He grabbed my hand and led me to a table. I looked down at his hand in mine and felt my face grow red. What was wrong with me? Pikachu noticed my distress and laughed. I shoved him off my shoulder and he landed on the floor with a yelp. He looked up and glared at me and I stuck my tongue at him. We can be very immature sometimes.

"So who were you talking to?" I asked looking down at the table we were sitting at.

"Who Stacey?" He asked looking back over to her table.

"So her name's Stacey?" I asked as Pikachu gave me a look that said something along the lines of "You're pathetic."

"Wait, you're not jealous are you?" Brian asked as he smirked.

"Of course not!" I said louder than I intended. "I was just curious to know who'd be crazy enough to actually have a conversation with you."

"Well if you hate talking to me that much then I'll just go back to her." He said narrowing his eyes and standing up.

"No! I'm sorry!" I yelped as I grabbed his sleeve. He smirked and sat back down.

"Now see, is begging to be with me all that hard?" He asked with humor in his voice. I glared at him, he just had to turn everything into a fight.

"Hey Brian, is this your girlfriend?" A happy high voice asked. I looked up to see Stacey walking over wearing an apron and holding a notepad.

"As if." He said looking over at her. I couldn't help but notice the way he looked at her. I frowned at not only that, but also what he had said. His words stung more than they should've.

"Well then she's free?" The guy with black hair that was sitting with her earlier said walking up with a flirty smile. He was also wearing an apron and held a notepad. I assumed they both worked at the restaurant.

"The name's Casey." He said with a grin. I noticed how much he and Stacey looked alike. It didn't take much to know they were related.

"And I'm Stacey, we're twins." Stacey said with a smile. I could tell already she was really nice, at least her and Brian completed each other. Her nice personality canceled out his mean one. I looked down and saw an Umbreon standing next to Casey and an Espeon standing next to Stacey. Then it finally clicked.

"You're April, May and June's siblings!" I said with a smile when I realized what April meant when she said I'd know who they were.

"We sure are!" Casey said as he grabbed my hand and kissed it. "And you are just as lovely as they described." It was a little weird how affectionate the guy was and that the triplets described me to him.

"We'd just like to order." Brian said narrowing his eyes at Casey.

"Of course!" Stacey said with a smile. We ordered our food and ate in silence.

"So you already knew Stacey?" I asked breaking the silence.

"Ya I met her the first time I came to Celadon." He said not even looking up at me.

"How many times have you been here?"

"Enough." I just sighed as I stirred around my food. I didn't mean to make him mad at me.

He rolled his eyes and stood up. I glanced up as he held his hand out to me. I just stared at him.

"This place is depressing, I've got something to show you." He said with a smile. Not just any smile, but a real genuine smile. I smiled back as I grabbed his hand and jumped up. Brian left money on the table and we ran out of the restaurant.

We walked through town and around in shops. I was surprised at how much I liked being with him. Before long it was dark and he led me to a hilltop just outside of town.

"What are we doing here?" I asked as we sat down.

"You'll see." He said looking up at the sky. I followed where his eyes were looking. I smiled as I saw a firework go off followed by a bang. My eyes lit up as more fireworks joined it.

"What are those for?" I asked.

"Happy National Pokemon Day." He said with an annoyed voice for having to remind me.

I don't know how I could possibly have forgotten such a day. Although it did explain all the decorations throughout the city. I should pay more attention to things.

I looked back up to the sky to see the fireworks had changed to shapes of Pokemon. I smiled as I saw one shaped like a Pikachu. I smiled over at Pikachu who was too focused on the sky to even pay attention to me.

"Did you see that one?" I asked Brian with a smile.

"Ya it's amazing isn't it?" He said looking over at me.

I noticed just how close our faces were and before I knew what was happening he leaned over and kissed me. I didn't really kiss back, I was too shocked to do much of anything. He pulled away just as quick as it happened with his eyes wide. I was sure he was just as surprised at what he did as I was. We were both blushing like crazy and watched the rest of the fireworks in silence. One thing for sure is it was a night I won't soon forget.

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><p><strong>So? I didn't really like this chapter, and it was kinda short. Review and let me know your thoughts.<strong>


	7. I'm not afraid!

**Ok here's the next chapter, it's much longer than the last one so enjoy! I don't own Pokemon but you already knew that!**

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><p>I woke up the next morning feeling very refreshed. I looked down at Pikachu as he stretched awake. We were finally leaving Celadon today, not like I hated the place but there was too much drama in the city for my liking. After getting dressed we made our way to the cafeteria and found Brian sitting at a table with Stacey and Casey. I walked over and sat next to Brian who didn't even look up from his plate. I noticed Umbreon wasn't with him.<p>

"Where's Umbreon at?" I asked. He just sat there ignoring me.

"Brian, Kate asked you a question." Stacey said from across the table.

"I know." He said still not looking up. I frowned not sure why he was ignoring me. I assumed it had something to do with the night before. Not wanting to deal with his temper I got up and moved to another table with Pikachu not far behind. I sat down and sighed.

"Rough morning?" A deep voice asked. I looked up to see a guy who looked around the age of twenty or so. He was really tall and had short cut brown hair with brown eyes to match. He almost reminded me of Alec.

"Not at all." I lied. Pikachu nudged my elbow with his tail and gave me an 'I'm watching you' look. I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Mind if I sit?" He asked motioning toward the empty seat across from me.

"Go for it." I said as I ate my food and handed Pikachu an apple. He sat down quietly and started eating.

"My name's Chris." He said after a few moments of silence.

"I'm Kate." I said with an attempt at a smile.

"I know." He said grinning at my surprised expression.

"I had no idea I was so popular." I said as I raised an eyebrow.

"Well you are, but that's not how I know who you are. I'm friends with your brother." He said with a laugh. I choked on my bite of food. After finally controlling my breathing I looked up at Chris.

"You are?" I asked.

"Ya we go way back. I met him the first day he joined the resistance." He said. "Even way back then he was strong."

I smiled thinking back to when my brother left. So even then he was good, it was no wonder he made it to the top so easily. It reminded me of Brian and I looked over to see him staring at me and Chris with an unhappy expression. I stuck my tongue at him and he glared.

"So you're traveling with Brian Dean of all people huh?" Chris asked breaking my gaze from Brian back to him.

"Sadly." I said mixing around my food.

"I assume it's because of your brother? He's protecting you?" He asked and I nodded my head. "Well hey, a lot of girls would kill to be in your place." He added.

"Well then they can take it, I don't see why everyone thinks I need to be protected. No one's even come after me, or even recognized me for that matter." I said dropping my fork no longer hungry.

"Well that's because you're not really out there. Trust me they're looking for you." He said with a frown. My expression matched his when I registered what he had said.

"But don't worry, you DO have Brian Dean protecting you. He's the best there is, trust me." He added. I wasn't so much worried about the people that could be after me. My thoughts were focused on what he said about Brian. The best there is? What about Alec?

"I'm going to go back to my room. I'm suddenly not feeling to well." I said standing up. Pikachu jumped on my shoulder already catching on to my lie.

"It was nice meeting you." Chris said in a low voice.

"You too." I said as I threw away my trash and walked away.

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><p>"What's the matter with you?" Brian said as he walked up behind me as soon as I was out of the cafeteria.<p>

"What's the matter with me? What's the matter with you?" I pretty much yelled.

"You're the one who left to go talk to some strange guy." He said sounding annoyed.

"Excuse me, but you're the one who was ignoring me. And besides he came up to me!" I said raising my voice even more. "What's wrong with you?" I asked in anger.

He raised his eyebrows and then lowered them. I knew him well enough to know he did that when he was surprised.

"I'm sorry." He said looking down.

"That's a start." I stated crossing my arms.

"Well that's all you're getting." He said turning back to his usual self and crossing his own arms. Our conversation was interrupted by a loud siren.

"What's going on?" I yelled over to him. He shook his head and looked around. Chris ran through the doors of the cafeteria and stopped in front of us.

"It's Team Moondusk!" He yelled over the noise. "They're trying to take the city!" He yelled as he ran out of the building. I assumed it was to try and stop them. I watched as many more of the trainers in the Pokemon Center ran out to go help. The siren finally stopped and I looked up at Brian.

"We have to go help." I said as I made my way to the door but was stopped by Brian grabbing my arm.

"Not you." He stated.

"Why not?" I asked as I tried to pull my arm out of his grasp. He just tightened his grip.

"You heard what he said, Team Moondusk. As in an evil group who could be after you. I'm not risking you going out there." He said as he loosed his grip.

"I can take care of myself." I said as I pulled my arm from his grasp and started walking toward the doors. He once again grabbed my arm but this time pushed me against the wall. He then put but his hands on either side of my head. Our bodies were close and I could feel his breath.

"I said you're not going." He said sounding firm.

"And I said I am." I said right back. He shook his head and sighed.

"Kate I'm begging you, please stay here. I can't risk anything happening to you." He said looking into my eyes. I couldn't think with him so close so I just nodded my head.

"If anything happens call my pokegear got it?" He said as he started for the door. I nodded again as I watched him leave. Pikachu pouted next to me.

"There was nothing I could do." I said looking down at him. He gave me a look saying 'I can't believe you fell for his goo goo eyes'. "Shut up." I added walking toward the window to see what was happening.

I figured the battles were going on further into town since there was no one in sight. I got the chills as I realized just how alone I was, there wasn't a single person left in the center. I went back to my room and sat on the bed, I felt slightly safer after I locked the door. Pikachu sat on my lap in an attempt to comfort me.

"I'm not scared." I lied when he looked up at me. "I'm just worried about you." I added looking over to the window. Pikachu's ear twitched and he looked over to the door.

"What is it?" I asked. He shook his head indicating he had no idea.

Reluctantly I got up and unlocked the door. I snuck a peak out in the hallway to find it was empty. Not believing I was alone I walked down the hall into the main entrance of the building to find the door was open. Confirming I wasn't alone I quickly made my way back to the hall to my room but stopped when I saw a man. He turned around and looked me over. I backed away as he smirked.

"Well you weren't too hard to find. They really didn't hide you very well." He said as he started walking towards me. I backed away quicker as Pikachu jumped off my shoulder and landed in between me and the grunt.

"Aw you have a rat." He said as he pulled a pokeball out. "Well so do I." He said with a laugh and tossed the ball.

Out came a Raticate showing off its fangs. Pikachu growled and let some sparks out of his cheeks to give a warning. The man laughed as the Raticate took off towards Pikachu. Pikachu was easily able to dodge but I didn't give him a command. He turned around to look at me and was hit by a quick attack because of it. I couldn't move or think. I was so terrified of the man before me. I had fought a grunt before that fateful day in the woods but that was before I knew they were after me. I felt myself shaking as I watched Pikachu continuously dodge the attacks from the Raticate.

"_Get it together Kate!" _I thought to myself. _"You have to give Pikachu a command, he's getting destroyed out there!" _I still couldn't bring myself to say anything. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. Pikachu got hit once again.

"Pikachu!" I yelled as he was thrown to the ground. He stood up glaring at the Raticate, daring it to attack again. The Raticate once again came at Pikachu with a quick attack.

"Dodge and use thunderbolt!" I ordered finally able to control my thoughts again. Pikachu followed my command and hit the Raticate straight on. The Pokemon fell down but quickly stood back up.

"Oh so you can battle." The grunt said with a sly grin. I glared no longer scared of him.

"Pikachu iron tail!" I ordered. Pikachu's tail lit up and he ran toward the Raticate but it dodged the attack and hit Pikachu with a bite attack. Pikachu struggled to get out of Raticate's grip but couldn't move.

"Thunderbolt!" I yelled hoping the shock would set him free. It not only did that but it also knocked the Raticate out cold. I smiled and sighed with relief.

"I wouldn't celebrate just yet." Said a female voice behind me.

I turned around to see four more grunts behind me. I gasped and backed away. I turned back around and saw Pikachu breathing heavily, there was no way I could take them all on. Thinking quickly I ran over and grabbed Pikachu. I had to make it to my room. The man I battled quickly jumped in my way but using what I learned in all my training I slid down and kicked his ankle knocking him over. Getting back up I ran toward my room as fast as I could with the grunts all running behind me. I ran in and locked the door. Knowing it was only a matter of time before they broke it down. I took out my pokegear and called Brian. He answered after a few rings and I saw his face appear on the screen.

"Not a good time Kate." He said as a grunt was thrown through the air behind him. I saw his Tyranitar shoot a hyper beam in the background and couldn't help but wonder what was going on out there. My mind came back to where I was and I felt the panic once again rush through me.

"They're here!" I yelled to him to make sure he could hear me. "They broke into the Pokemon Center and they're trying to break down my door I don't know what to do!" I shouted as tears started to form in my eyes. I saw a look of panic flash across his face but it was quickly replaced with a serious expression.

"Kate listen to me carefully, you have to fight back. Do everything in your power to get away from them. I'm on my way over but you have to buy some time!" He yelled as he started running to what I assumed was back to the Pokemon Center.

I screamed as the door was broken down and the five grunts came charging in. I didn't bother hanging up the pokegear as I pulled out a pokeball listening to what Brian had said. All I had to do was buy a little bit of time for him to get back. I sent out Sandshrew hoping he could get me an exit out of the room. He let out a cry as he was freed from his ball. He looked up at the grunts and was ready to defend me. The girl grunt sent out a Ninetales that barely fit in the small room.

"Rollout!" I ordered but pointed to the wall to the right and not the Ninetales

Following my command but looking slightly confused Sandshrew rolled right through the wall and I crawled through the small hole he made with Pikachu right behind me. I quickly returned Sandshrew and noticed I was in the room next door. I saw the Ninetales attempt to crawl through the small hole but wasn't able to make it. In frustration it shot flames and me and I ran out of the room. I looked over and saw the grunts standing in the door way of my room. They quickly noticed me and ran after me.

"There's no use in running little girl!" The man with the Raticate yelled as I turned a corner.

I tried to think of the layout of the building in my mind, trying to think of some exit. I skid to a halt as I came to a dead end. The grunts all stopped behind me and I slowly turned around to face them. Breathing heavily out of breath I weighed my options. I could fight back but I only had three Pokemon while they each had at least two. Or I could just give myself over to them. The second idea scared me but I knew that it could prevent my Pokemon from getting hurt. Pikachu ran out in front of me and looked back with a smile. I knew what he wanted me to do. I pulled out the rest of my pokeballs and sent out my Pokemon. I wasn't going down without a fight. My Pokemon didn't last long, they were easily taken out by a Flygon the female grunt sent out. The powerful attacks it used even knocked me back. I struggled to sit up as the grunts made their way over to me. With a smirk the man looked down at me.

"I told you there was no use in running." He said with a laugh as my world turned to blackness.

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><p><strong>Well what did you think? There was a lot more action in this chapter! Reviews are nice!<strong>


	8. It's a whole new world I'm stuck in!

**Thanks to both XxTears. Of. Crimon. On. SandxX and Ambercatlucky2 for your awesome words. I'm glad you like my story probably just as much as I like writing it. :) I hope you enjoy the next chapter.**

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><p>I woke up to find I was locked in a cage. My body hurt from my run in with the Flygon but I ignored the pain. I looked around and found my Pokemon and pokegear were gone. It had gotten dark and I wasn't even sure if it was still the same day or if I was even still anywhere near Celadon. I held back tears as I looked around. There was a small camp that consisted of a few very large tents and a fire in the center. There wasn't anyone around but there were a few Houndoom chained to some trees that were fast asleep. I assumed they were there to alert of any intruders, or escapees. I shuddered at the thought.<p>

I realized Pikachu was no where to be seen and I started to panic. What if they sent him off to be a slave for Moondusk? Or fed him to the Houndoom? I didn't really know what they did with all the Pokemon they captured but I was afraid of all the terrible things they could do. I suddenly wished Brian were there. He always knew what to do. He never showed fear and always had a clear mind. And then there was me, sitting around feeling sorry for myself always relying on him.

I heard a noise in the trees above me and saw a group of Hoothoot fly away. I was confused to see Pokemon native to the Johto region in Kanto. Then it hit me. I saw not only more Hoothoot in the trees above but also Sentret and I knew that I wasn't in Kanto anymore I was in the Johto region. I also knew I had to rely on myself this time, because this time Brian wasn't coming to save me. It was time I did something myself.

I heard a noise in the bushes and looked over to see a Chikorita. She noticed me and ran over to the cage.

"Hi there." I said trying to sound as friendly as possible.

"I'm trapped in this cage, do you think you could help me get out? Maybe find the keys or something?" I asked hoping the Pokemon would help.

She stared at me for a minute then slowly nodded her head. She looked around and ran off toward the nearest tent. After a minute she came back out and ran into the tent next to it. She took longer in that tent and I was worried she wasn't going to come back out when sure enough she came running out with keys in her mouth. Using her vine she handed me the keys and I tried them each one by one until I found the one that unlocked the cage.

"Thanks!" I said to the Pokemon as I crawled out of the cage. She smiled at me and ran back into the forest without a single look back.

I had to find Pikachu and the rest of my Pokemon before I tried to go anywhere. Since there were no grunts to be found, I slowly and quietly snuck over to the tents. Figuring since Chikorita didn't find anything in the first tent I skipped it and headed to the second one. I quietly made my way into it trying not to wake up the sleeping Houndoom in front. Once inside I found a table with maps and plans scattered across it in the center. Looking to the left of the tent I saw a small desk and on top of it were my pokeballs along with my pokegear. I sighed in relief and gathered my things. I walked back over to the table with the papers on it and I figured the papers could come in handy for the resistance. But before I could grab any I heard chains rattling from outside. I knew it had to be the Houndoom and since they didn't sound mad I assumed it was someone from Team Moondusk. Realizing I was about to be found I quickly hid in a large cabinet on my right.

"Of course he'll fall for the trap. We've had her for two days and with how often he kept tabs on her he'll come running for her in no time and he'll bring the stone with him." I heard a man's deep voice say as he entered the tent. I assumed he was talking on a phone. I peeked through a small crack in the cabinet and saw a tall man who looked to be in his thirties. He was bald but had a black beard and mustache that covered most of his face.

"No, no I've told you there's no way she can escape not unless she can make keys appear out of thin air." He said sounding bored. I smirked at his comment.

"Brian Dean? Well of course we've taken him into consideration, he's still in Kanto searching for her. He's what? Well I assure you sir I had no idea… Yes of course, of course sir. Right away." He said sounding frantic as he ran out of the tent.

Knowing I didn't have much time I quickly climbed out of the cabinet and made my way to the table. I grabbed a few of the papers on top and folded them and put them in my pocket. I walked over to the entrance of the tent and peeked out. The man with the beard was over by the cage I was held in and was yelling at some grunts. I quickly backed away knowing they'd be looking for me now that they knew I was gone. I had a plan but I was going to have to be quick. I sent out Growlithe and he stretched upon being released. He quickly sat in front of me waiting for a command.

"Alright Growlithe I need you to burn me a way out of this tent." I said looking behind me to make sure the man didn't come back in. Growlithe nodded his head and used a flame wheel to break through the back of the tent. I knew they had probably heard the noise so I needed a distraction.

"Ok now burn down the tent." I ordered and Growlithe used a flamethrower that engulfed the entire tent in flames. I returned my Pokemon and ran into the forest. I heard yelling and the barking of Houndoom behind me but didn't stop to see if I was being chased. I stopped after a few minutes and saw a huge cloud of smoke in the sky from the fire I had set. I hoped it wouldn't burn down the forest.

I looked down at my pokegear to call Brian but realized the battery had died. I was stuck in a region I didn't know with no direction. I frowned and sat down in the grass. I remembered Pikachu and released him from his pokeball. He came out with a happy cry to be free. Once he saw me he jumped into my arms and I wrapped him in a hug.

"I missed you too buddy." I said as I snuggled him.

I heard a rustle in some bushes next to me and jumped at the noise, but relaxed when the Chikorita from earlier came crawling out.

"Hello again, thanks for helping me back there." I said as she ran circles around me and Pikachu.

"I don't suppose you know where the nearest town is?" I asked when she stopped and sat down in front of me. She nodded her head and ran ahead of me and turned around as though she wanted me to follow her. I quickly stood up and ran after her with Pikachu on my shoulder. After walking for a while we finally came to a stop I front of a sign that read 'Violet City up ahead.' Chikorita seemed proud of herself as she smiled up at the sign and then back at me.

"Thanks for all your help." I said with a smile and walked to the town. I was worried to see that the town was under the control of Moondusk. Pikachu quickly hid inside my jacket and I kept my head low as I walked through the town. I was trying to find a resistance base but without my pokegear I couldn't even be sure there was one in Violet City. I gave up after about an hour and sat down on some boxes.

"You're Kate Leaf!" A young boy who looked to be about ten said as he stood in front of me. He had short brown hair and big green eyes that shined with his smile.

"And you are?" I asked raising an eyebrow as I looked up at him.

"I'm Jake, you should come with me." He said as he glanced at some Moondusk grunts walking by. Not knowing where else to go I followed the kid.

"You know you shouldn't be sitting out in the open like that." He said as we walked.

"And why's that?" I asked as Pikachu poked his head out of my jacket, but I quickly shoved him back in.

"You're pretty well known in these parts. Alec Leaf even came here to find you, and he's super famous!" Jake said throwing his hands in the air. It took me a second to register what he had said.

"Wait Alec Leaf as in my brother? He's here?" I asked shocked.

"Well he was, him and Brian Dean met up here to look for you after they heard you were in the Johto region. You must be pretty important to have the two best members in the resistance looking for you." He said sounding amazed.

"Brian was here too? How did they meet up?" I asked. As far I as I knew Alec was missing and no one had heard from him, apparently that wasn't true.

"Well Brian called Alec and let him know what was happening and so they met up at our base. Although they don't get along very well but they put that aside because they both wanted to find you so bad. You must feel pretty special." Everything he said didn't make sense. Everyone told me Alec was missing and yet Brian just called him up and he came right over?

"Here we are." Jake said as we walked into an alley and he held up his bright blue pokegear to the wall.

With a beep a door was revealed and we walked through it. The base was similar to the one in Celadon. There was a large main room when you first walk in and I saw multiple hallways that led to the other areas of the base. I felt so at home but at the same time it made me sad as it reminded me of all my friends that were still back in Celadon. Pikachu jumped from out of my jacket glad to be out in the open again.

"Well isn't this a surprise." Said a short man with a small mustache and long blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail. I had to admit he looked a bit ridiculous but I kept my laughter to myself as I realized he was the commander of the base.

"Last I heard you were taken by Moondusk and yet here you stand." He added as he looked me over.

"I found her in town!" Jake said with a proud smile. "She looked so lost and confused so I did the gentlemen thing to do and led her here." He added.

"That's not completely true." I said not wanting to sound pathetic.

"Why didn't you use your pokegear to find the base?" Ponytail guy asked.

"It ran out of batteries." I said with a frown. He quickly took it off my wrist and set it on a charger he had sitting on his desk.

"The name's Vic." He said holding out his hand which I shook.

"Jake said my brother was here." I said getting right to the point.

"He was, him and Brian met up here and left last night to look for you." He said frowning.

"How did you get here?" He asked.

I told him everything that had happened to me but in a shortened version.

"Sounds like you got lucky with that Chikorita." Jake said with a laugh.

"Indeed you did, Chikorita are rarely seen in these parts." Vic added. I just shrugged my shoulders.

"What ever the reason is I'm here now. Where were Brian and Alec headed?" I asked in a hurry to catch up with them.

"They said something about heading to Azalea Town." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

I quickly grabbed my pokegear and took off towards the exit.

"Wait where are you going?" Jake yelled after me.

"I'm going to catch up with them, thanks for your help!" I yelled back as I left with Pikachu behind me.

My pokegear wasn't fully charged but it did have enough battery left for me to find the way to Azalea Town. I also saw I had a lot of missed calls from Brian who was obviously trying to find me. I also had a few from Caleb, April, May, June and even Cal, it was like the whole world knew I was missing. Before I could call Brian my pokegear once again died. I sighed as I started my long walk toward Azalea Town.

It didn't take long for me to realize I had to walk the same way I had come. After a while I could see the large amount of smoke coming from the area where I was being held. I realized they didn't put out the fire and it had spread. I felt since it was my fault I had to do something. I heard some Pokemon crying from in the fire and I ran in to help despite Pikachu's protests. Once I was in with the flames it was hard to see. The smoke was so thick I could hardly see in front of me. It was also hard to breathe and I felt like the smoke was suffocating me. So running in probably wasn't the smartest idea but I was glad I did when I saw the Chikorita from before and a group of other Pokemon cowering under a tree terrified of the flames.

"It's ok I'm going to get you out of here." I said through coughs to try and get them to follow me out.

The Pokemon didn't seem like they wanted to trust me but Chikorita urged them to follow me out. We all slowly made our way through the flames and kept low. I finally saw a break in the flames and pointed the Pokemon towards it. We all ran out and I was glad to finally be able to breathe again when I noticed Chikorita wasn't with us.

"Stay with them!" I told Pikachu as I ran back in after her.

I found her with a baby Sentret that she was trying calm down and help get out of the fire. I smiled at how braved she was and quickly picked up both the Pokemon and ran for it. It was getting harder to breathe and I could barely keep my balance but I had to get the Pokemon out. I once again saw the break in the flames and threw the Pokemon through it before falling to the ground in exhaustion. The heat of the flames around me was too much as I felt myself loosing consciousness.

"Kate!" I heard a familiar voice yell. I looked up to see a blurred figure coming towards me just as everything went black.

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><p><strong>So who found her? ;) Review!<strong>


	9. Beaches and rivalry?

**I haven't been able to update in over a week and I'm sorry for that. So here's a long(ish) chapter that I hope you enjoy :)**

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><p>I felt a sense of déjà vu when I once again woke up in an unfamiliar place. I glanced around the room to find I was lying in a bed in what seemed to be some type of infirmary. Still not quite sure where I was I sat up to get a better look around me but paused when I saw a figure leaning against a wall on the other side of the room. My eyes were still a little blurred from just waking up and I could barely tell who it was. I could tell the person had black hair. I saw my bag next to the bed and figured it had to be Brian since he probably had my bag.<p>

"Brian?" I asked to make sure.

"Guess again." Said a man's voice and I knew it wasn't Brian's.

The man stepped forward and my eyes finally adjusted. He looked a lot like Brian but seemed to be just a little older and taller. His hair was the same raven color as Brian's and even had the same facial features. He also had the same beautiful blue eyes. Either this guy was a clone of Brian or they were related.

"Who are you?" I asked as I looked him over.

"It doesn't matter." He said simply as he walked over and stood by the window at the bottom of the bed. He looked so peaceful as he stared out.

"Tell me something Kate." He finally said looking over at me. "If someone does something they shouldn't, just to be close with their family, does that make them a bad person?"

"How do you know my name?" I asked starting to get a little weirded out by the guy.

"Answer the question!" He practically yelled looking angry but went right back to the calm face. I was scared but decided I should just answer the question.

"I guess not." I said as I tried to scoot back farther in the bed away from him. He just turned back toward the window.

"And yet I'm the bad guy." He said as he stared out and laughed to himself. I couldn't help but think there was something seriously wrong with this guy.

"All I want is to be a family again. But he wants nothing to do with me. He HATES me." He continued emphasizing the last part. "He became the best of the best, just to beat me. He grew strong and had no weakness, I really thought he just might stop me." He rambled on. I assumed he was just talking to himself, but I wasn't really sure.

"And then you come along." He said looking over at me once again making me flinch.

"He fell for you like a Pidgey learning to fly." I couldn't help but think is analogy was weird but then again so was he.

"And now, I found his weakness. The one thing I can use against him. And we can be a family again." He said smiling as he stepped closer to me. I was starting to seriously freak out. What exactly was this guy going to do to me? But before the guy could take a step closer he stopped as we heard foot steps down the hall. He paused and looked at me.

"We'll meet again, my darling Kate." He said with a smile and walked towards the window, he opened it up and he jumped out. I didn't move to see if he hit the ground and splat I was too freaked out to even blink. Afraid that if I closed my eyes for even a second he'd be there again.

The door to the room opened but I didn't look over to see who it was. I just stared at the opened window.

"Kate? Kate!" A voice said snapping me out of my daze as a pair of hands shook my shoulders. I looked over to see Caleb staring back at me, his face filled with concern I saw Brian walk up behind him with a similar expression. The fear I had felt before slowly went away with their presence.

"Kate, what happened? Are you ok?" Caleb asked as he looked me over. I didn't answer him. Brian looked over to the window with a confused look on his face.

"Did you open that?" He asked looking back to me.

I shook my head and he walked over to it. He looked out the window with a serious expression but I assumed he found nothing as he shut it and locked it. I felt a little safer with the window closed and locked. I still couldn't move, there was something about that guy and I knew I would definitely see him again.

"Did something happen while we were gone?" Caleb asked as he too stared at the open window.

"I saw someone." I said looking down.

"Who?" He asked as both him and Brian quickly looked over at me and then around the room.

"I don't know who he was, he was here when I woke up and then he jumped out that window." I said as I looked at the window.

"What did he look like?" Brian asked as he stepped closer to the bed. I stared up at him not sure how to answer.

"He looked like you." That was all I had to say for Brian to know who was in my room.

His face first showed shock but the expression was replaced with one of anger and confusion. His fists clenched at his side. I had never seen Brian look so angry before, and I thought back to what the guy had said about someone hating him. I knew that the family he wanted to once again be close to was Brian.

Caleb left for a minute and when he came back Pikachu was at his heels. He jumped onto the bed and stared up at me. I quickly wrapped my arms around him and held him close.

"How did I get here? Where am I?" I asked Caleb when I finally looked up.

"I was out looking for you and saw the fire. I saw Pikachu and I went running in to find you. I brought you here to Cherrygrove City and called Brian." He said.

"Cherrygrove City? Why did you take me way over here? I asked.

"Cherrygrove has the best medical care and is Pokemon friendly, it was a quick and easy trip for my Pidgeot." He said just as his pokegear started to ring. I was a little amazed that he had a Pidgeot. I didn't take Caleb as a strong trainer but it takes a good trainer to fully evolve their Pokemon.

"Sorry I have to take this." He said as he got up and left the room.

"Where's Alec?" I asked looking at Brian as I realized he was supposed to be with him. I was glad to see Brian had calmed down and once again had his usual careless expression.

"Kate…" He started with a sigh. I knew he was no longer with Alec, if he was Alec would've been in the room with me, I just wanted to get an explanation from him.

"I'm sorry, but he couldn't stay. It's…complicated." He stated as I felt tears start to form in my eyes.

"Why? I just don't understand why he doesn't want to see me." I said as tears fell down my face. It finally hit me that all this time I had been searching for Alec thinking he was missing but in reality he wasn't. I hadn't heard from him in years and when he was so close he couldn't even stay to make sure I was ok.

"That's not it at all. Kate, Alec is being hunted by Moondusk and who knows who else, he didn't want to put you in any danger." He said with a sigh.

"Well I'm already in danger so what does it matter?" I said as I wiped my face.

"Trust me, its best if you don't see him for a while." He said.

"Why did you lie to me? Why does everyone think Alec is missing when he's not?" I asked.

"So he can protect the Stone of Shadows, he went into hiding. Only top members of the resistance are in on it. As far as the world knows Alec Leaf is missing and so is the stone." He said as he walked over to the window and looked out. The peaceful look on his face was similar to that of the man who stood there earlier.

"Since no one knew where Alec was they decided to use you to draw him out. Once the resistance learned of this they sent me out to find you. That's why I just happen to run into you in the forest the day we met. I knew who you were right away." He said as he looked over at me.

"So why didn't you just tell me?" I asked with a frown.

"I couldn't. The leaders thought you could blow the cover if you knew."

"How so?" I asked feeling slightly offended. He just shrugged his shoulder. He looked like he was about to say something else when Caleb walked back in.

"Sorry, it was important. So what are we talking about in here?" He said with a smile.

"Nothing important." Brian said as I opened my mouth. I frowned at him but he just ignored me.

"So I was thinking Kate, if you're up for it we can all go down to the beach. Cherrygrove City is right by the beach after all." Caleb said walking over to me. Pikachu cheered next to me and I smiled. A day at the beach was exactly what I needed.

"I don't know." I said thinking back to the box I was supposed to deliver.

"Just go, it's not like waiting one more day to deliver the box is going to hurt anyone." Brian said looking bored.

"Ok then, let's go." I said as I jumped up from the bed.

"You two have fun." Brian said as he started walking toward the door.

"You're not coming?" I asked with a frown.

"I have better things to do with my life than play around in the sand." He said as he turned around with an annoyed expression. He then once again started towards the door.

"It's ok Kate, me and you will have plenty of fun running around in our swimming suits." Caleb said with a grin. Brian stopped and turned around with a glare.

"I don't have one though." I said with a frown.

"It's ok I've got it taken care of." He said as he pulled out a small white and blue polka dot bikini. I was starting to think the whole beach thing was about more than just having fun at the beach. How did he even know my size? I ignored my thoughts and just figured I'd go with it and have fun.

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><p>It turned out Brian did come with us. He said something about wanting to let Umbreon play in the water. I didn't really care what his lame reason was because I was just glad to be able to spend a day with my friends.<p>

When we got down to the beach I was amazed to find there weren't any people there.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"This beach belongs to the resistance, only members are allowed on it." Caleb explained as Brian laid out a towel on the ground and set up an umbrella.

He then tugged off his shirt causing me to blush like crazy. I couldn't help but notice his well toned body. I could see the lines of his abs and the muscles on his biceps. He was in pretty good shape and I was completely amazed. I had no idea he was hiding all that under his shirt.

He sat down on his towel and laid back with his arms behind his head looking up at me with a smirk. I quickly looked away over to Caleb just as he removed his own shirt with the same result. I couldn't help but wonder if every teenage boy had a body like that or if they were just ripped.

Pikachu jumped from my shoulder and onto the sand. He then ran to the water and started playing in it.

"Wait for me!" I yelled to him as I set my towel down.

I was about to take off my shirt to reveal the bikini underneath but stopped when I glanced over at the two boys that were unpacking. Once I figured they weren't paying attention I took off the shirt and shorts I had covering the swimming suit. I looked down at the small amount of clothing I had on and couldn't believe I had agreed to wear it. I looked over to see Caleb staring at me with a look of half surprise and half amazement. I glanced over to see Brian had a similar expression but his was more filled with amusement. I smirked at him just as he had done to me and his expression turned into a scowl causing me to laugh. I decided to ignore the boys and ran into the water with Pikachu.

The first half of the day went pretty smoothly. Pikachu and I played in the water for a while and built a sand castle. Caleb let out his Pikachu and the two Pokemon played happily. I let my other Pokemon out to play which made seemed to make them happy. Sandshrew buried himself in the warm sand and took a nap while Growlithe ran around and played with Umbreon. Brian had let out Charmeleon who just like Brian just lay there in the sand. I guess what they say about the trainer and Pokemon being alike was true. The best part about the day was that Brian and Caleb hadn't tried to kill each other. But the happy times were short lived.

"So who's up for a game of Pokemon volleyball?" Caleb asked as he walked over with a volleyball in his hand.

"What's that?" I asked. I had heard of volleyball, I even used to play it a lot as a kid but I had never heard of Pokemon volleyball.

"It's volleyball but your Pokemon play too." He said with a smile.

"Sounds fun!" I said as I put the finishing touches on my sand sculpture of Pikachu. It didn't really turn out well but he like it anyway.

"You up for it Dean?" Caleb asked Brian. They weren't even on a first name basis, which I found to be pretty sad.

"Ya right." Brian mocked not even bothering to open his eyes. Caleb just shrugged his shoulders and pulled out two pokeballs.

"We'll go three on three." He said with a grin. I nodded and decided to play with Pikachu and Growlithe since Sandshrew was fast asleep buried in the sand.

Caleb threw his two pokeballs in the air and out came a Marshtomp and a Blaziken. I was amazed at the two Pokemon that stood before me.

"You've been to the Hoenn region?" I asked as I looked his Pokemon over.

"Ya I was born there. I just moved to the Kanto region a few years ago." He said with a proud smile. I had to admit I was impressed. His Pokemon looked powerful.

"I'm not sure this will be a fair game." I said with laughter as I looked at the two small Pokemon on my team.

"You can use Blaziken if you want." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I think I'll stick with my team." I said looking down at my Pokemon who were ready to play.

I served first and as it went over Blaziken easily hit it back with an incredible force and it hit the ground before I could even see where it went. I looked over at Caleb and he just laughed.

"Alright guys, lets get serious." I said to my Pokemon who looked determined to win.

This time Caleb served the ball which I easily hit back over. Marshtomp slapped the ball back over and Pikachu jumped up on my shoulder. As soon as the ball came back down Pikachu jumped up off my shoulder and spiked the ball down hard with his tail. It was too quick for Caleb as he dived to get it but missed. We cheered mostly in surprise that we actually got a point. The game continued on a few more rounds and we were losing five to one. I served the ball and Marshtomp hit it back. Growlithe quickly hit it up and I smacked it back to the other side. It was quick and Blaziken slid to hit the ball. He hit it but the ball went flying to the right and hit Charmeleon who was asleep on the sand. He looked up and was really angry. He shot flames over at Blaziken who jumped out of the way and shot flames of his own. The two Pokemon stood there glaring at each other. Brian sat up looking annoyed.

"Can you control your Pokemon?" He said as more of a statement than a question.

"Why should I, your Pokemon started it." Caleb said with a glare. "Besides we don't want your little Charmeleon to get hurt." He added with a mischievous smile.

I knew what he was doing, and seeing as how both Charmeleon and Brian were arrogant and proud it was going to work. Charmeleon spit fire on the ground and looked even angrier than before. Brian sighed and I could tell he knew where this was going.

"If you want a battle look else where, I'm not wasting my time." He said as he lay back down. Charmeleon growled in response to Brian's action. "Forget it." Brian said to his Pokemon. But Charmeleon wouldn't let it go.

"Come on, your Pokemon wants a battle. What are you afraid to finally lose?" Caleb mocked. I had never seen him act like that and it was starting to annoy even me. I knew he just wanted to show up Brian but he didn't have to act like a jerk.

With a sigh Brian finally stood up. He glared at Caleb with a lot of anger and I was glad that glare wasn't directed toward me.

I sighed, so much for a day of relaxing.

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><p><strong>A battle between Caleb and Brian! How exciting! I already know who's going to win but I'd still like to hear your thoughts on it so review! :)<strong>


	10. Things are heated up!

**Ok here's chapter 10! I'm not really sure if I'm going to continue this story since it seems not many people read it. I already have the next few chapters written up so depending on the reviews (if any) I'll decide whether or not I'm going to continue.**

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><p>I watched on the side lines as the two boys were ready to face off. I couldn't believe they were actually going to have a battle in the middle of the beach. I frowned at the glares they were sending each other and I could tell the battle was about more than just Charmeleon's need for revenge. I stood there waiting for one of them to make the first move.<p>

"Go Blaziken use blaze kick!" Caleb called out and Blaziken ran toward Charmeleon and sent out a fiery kick. Brian didn't even have to tell Charmeleon to dodge as he simply stepped out of the way.

"Metal claw." Brian ordered and Charmeleon quickly hit Blaziken straight on before it even had time to land. Since it wasn't very effective the attack didn't do much damage but the look on Brian's face showed hurting Blaziken wasn't his plan. He was just messing with Caleb. I heard Caleb growl as Blaziken turned around ready to go again.

"Flame thrower!" Brian commanded.

"Show them your flame thrower Blaziken!" Caleb ordered and both Pokemon shot powerful flames at one another that seemed to be evenly matched.

I couldn't help but wonder how that could've been. Blaziken was fully evolved unlike Charmeleon so Blaziken's flame should've been stronger than Charmeleon's. I then realized that it wasn't that Blaziken was weak, it was just that Brian's Charmeleon was crazy strong and I couldn't help but think to myself how scary it would be when it evolved.

The Pokemon gave up on the flames and once again stood there staring at each other. I sighed seeing as how the battle was going to take forever since the Pokemon were evenly matched.

"Use fire punch!" Caleb shouted and Blaziken once again ran toward Charmeleon.

"Metal claw." Brian said just as Blaziken got close. The two Pokemon then started in a furry of punches. First Blaziken would take a hit and then Charmeleon and I wondered just how long it would go on until Charmeleon fell to the ground. I gasped and Brian actually looked surprised. It had almost seemed that Blaziken had won until Charmeleon stood up. He was shaking and breathing heavily and it was obvious he couldn't go on much longer unlike Blaziken who was still standing tall.

"You should really tell your Pokemon to stay down, it'll just save him the pain." Caleb said sounding smug. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, he was starting to sound like Brian.

Charmeleon growled and once again charged towards Blaizken. After a few hits Charmeleon was once again on the ground. He got back up breathing heavily but wouldn't give up.

"Let's just face it, your Charmeleon is strong but unlike Blaziken it isn't fully evolved so of course it's going to lose." Caleb said with an overly confident smile.

Brian simply started at his Pokemon waiting for it to make another move. Charmeleon wouldn't give up and once again ran toward Blaziken only to be knocked back down. He stood back up looking frustrated and before I knew what was happening he started to glow. He then started growing and I was amazed as he also grew wings. When the glowing stopped there stood a Charizard. That was the first time I had ever seen a Pokemon evolve and I had to admit it looked pretty cool. Charizard growled over at Blaziken and spit an ember onto the ground. Blaziken tensed up but was still ready to battle. Caleb just stared at the Pokemon and knew he was going to lose while Brian studied the Charizard for a minute looking puzzled.

Before anyone even gave a command Charizard shot a flame thrower at Blaziken who used one of his own. They were evenly matched at first but Charizard quickly over powered Blaziken and the attack hit him straight on. Blaziken was able to stand back up but was looking tired. Charizard took advantage of the moment and charged toward Blaziken without an order. Blaziken didn't even see it coming and was knocked down by the force. He then shot a powerful flame thrower which Blaziken had to roll out of the way to avoid.

"That's enough Charizard!" Brian yelled to his Pokemon but it didn't listen.

Charizard once again shot a flame thrower that got a direct hit on Blaziken and it fell to the ground. Caleb quickly returned his Pokemon afraid of any more attacks Charizard might throw out but Charizard wasn't done yet. With his opponent gone he looked for someone else to attack. Unfortunately for me I was that someone. I screamed as Charizard shot flames directly towards me. Luckily Growlithe and Pikachu used attacks of their own. They weren't strong enough to stop the attack completely but they did give me time to jump out of the way. Angry that he stopped the attack Charizard charged toward Growlithe. I quickly returned my Pokemon afraid of what the Charizard could do to him. With his sights once again on me and now Pikachu I could only watch in horror as the Charizard charged toward us. He shot a flame at me once again but this one was deflected by Umbreon who used a dark pulse. I had no idea Umbreon was that strong. He was able to deflect Charizard's attack like it was nothing. While I was lost in my thoughts Charizard charged toward us again. Umbreon stood in front of me ready to block any attacks but before Charizard could get any closer he was engulfed in a beam of red light. I looked over to see Brian staring hard at the pokeball. I could never imagine Brian to be one to lose control over his Pokemon.

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><p>I was glad when we got back to the Pokemon Center. My day of relaxing had been ruined and I was hoping the rest of the day would make up for the bad morning. I stopped when I got to the front of the Pokemon Center because standing in front of it was none other than the Chikorita from before. She smiled up at me as I came to a stop.<p>

"What are you doing here?" I asked her and she jumped into my arms and onto my shoulder where Pikachu was. Realizing there wasn't enough room for the two of them she pushed Pikachu off. Pikachu landed on the ground with a growl as he glared up at her.

"I think she likes you. Why don't you ask her if she wants to come along with you?" Caleb said as he smiled at the scene before him. I frowned as Brian ignored it and walked inside the Pokemon Center obviously upset about his Charizard.

"Do you want to come along with me?" I asked her. She nodded her head but jumped off my shoulder and landed in a battle stance.

"Looks like you're going to have to battle her first." Caleb said with a chuckle.

"Alright then, let's go." I said as I pulled out my pokeball. I released Growlithe and he looked ready for a battle. The fact that she was going up against Growlithe who had a type advantage didn't seem to bother Chikorita at all. She seemed almost excited to battle me.

"Go Growlithe use flame wheel!" I ordered. Growlithe quickly followed my command and charged toward the Chikorita after covering himself in flames. Chikorita was barely able to avoid the attack and winced as her side was burned. She quickly made a come back with a tackle attack followed by a razor leaf. Growlithe took both attacks but quickly stood up ready for more.

"Alright, let's try a flame thrower!" I yelled and he shot flames at Chikorita hitting her directly. She was thrown back but was able to stand back up. She used a vine whip and grabbed Growlithe holding him high up in the air. Growlithe cried out as Chikorita's vines squeezed him.

"Use bite!" I yelled out to him. He quickly bit down on her vine causing her to release him from them.

"Finish this with flame thrower!" I ordered and he hit Chikorita directly knocking her out.

I pulled out a pokeball and threw it at her and after a few shakes it stopped. My Pokemon and I cheered at the capture happy to have a new friend.

Caleb received a message on his pokegear and stared at it with a frown.

"Well, looks like it's time for me to head out." He said sounding sad. I frowned.

"Already?" I asked and he nodded.

"I'll catch you around." He said with a smile.

He gave me a hug good bye and then pulled out a pokeball. He tossed in into the air and out came a Pidgeot. It was beautiful and I smiled as he climbed on and flew away.

I figured my Pokemon could use a rest so I went inside the Pokemon Center to give them to nurse Joy when I saw Brian talking on his pokegear. I'm not sure why but I stopped where I was. I quickly hid behind a plant and listened in to what he was saying.

"Sinnoh is getting worse everyday we need you back here." I heard a girl's voice say.

"I know." Brian said with a sigh.

"Then why are you still there. At this rate we're going to lose Sinnoh, don't you think that's more important than babysitting some girl?" The girl said in an annoyed tone. I knew she was talking about me and I couldn't help but feel a little hurt by her comment even though it wasn't the first time anyone's said that.

"You're just going to have to hold them off until I'm done here." Brian stated copying her annoyed tone.

"And I'm telling you we can't! There are only two major cities left, if they take them then there's no hope." She pleaded. Brian once again sighed.

"I'll see what I can do." He finally said and hung up.

I felt my heart sink. Was Brian going to leave me to go to Sinnoh? I could tell it was urgent and they probably needed him there a lot more than I needed him here, but part of me couldn't imagine what it would be like without him around. I felt tears sting my eyes as I quickly ran out of the Pokemon Center with Pikachu at my heels. It seemed like no one wanted to be around me. First Alec came and then left and even Caleb had left. Now Brian was going to leave me. I thought he was supposed to stay with me to keep me safe. I stopped running after I had sorted through my thoughts. I found I had run back to the beach and paused when I saw a familiar figure in the distance. He came closer and I couldn't bring myself to move. He finally came to a halt right in front of me. It was the man who was in my room that same morning.

"Weird how we keep running into each other." He said with a sly smile.

"Get away from me!" I warned. Pikachu wasn't there when I first ran into the guy but sensing I didn't like him he growled.

"Now Kate, I'm trying to be civil here." He said as an Umbreon walked from behind him and growled at Pikachu.

"How do you know me? Who are you?" I asked as I backed away.

"I guess you can say I'm a fan." He said with a grin. "As to who I am, you can call me Damon." He added.

"Why are you following me?" I asked as he stepped closer.

"I believe I told you that last time we met." He said sounding annoyed. "Anymore questions?"

"Why does Brian hate you?" I asked and he frowned.

"I think you've asked enough." He said as he turned around and started walking away.

"Wait!" I yelled as I ran after him. He turned around with a smirk and I couldn't help but notice it looked exactly like Brian's.

"Yes?" He mocked. Before I could say anything a black orb flew right in between us sending dirt flying into the air. I covered my eyes with my arms and when I looked up I saw Brian and Umbreon come running towards us.

"Kate get away from him!" Brian yelled as he came up. I took a step back as Brian stopped at my side.

"My dear baby brother." Damon said staring at Brian with a smile. So they were brothers, I figured that was obvious but I was glad it was confirmed.

"Don't call me that!" Brian yelled at him with anger.

"What would you prefer me to call you? Little brother? Kid brother?" Damon said with amusement.

"That's enough." Brian said and I could've sworn I'd heard his voice break a little. I didn't know what happened between the two but it seemed to be too much for Brian to handle. I saw the two Umbreon's glaring at each other. Even their Pokemon didn't like each other.

"As fun as this little reunion was I think it's time for me to be leaving." Damon said as he pulled out a pokeball. He released a Flygon and grabbed his Umbreon and jumped on. Brian didn't move from his spot to stop him. I watched as he flew off into the distance. Once he was no longer in sight Brian looked over to me with an annoyed expression.

"What the hell were you doing out here on your own?" He asked sounding mad.

"I just needed to go for a walk." I said looking down to the ground as I remembered the reason I had run off. He gave me a questioning look. "How'd you know where I was?" I asked avoiding his gaze.

"I saw you run out of the Pokemon Center and followed you. So are you going to tell me why you went running off?" He asked getting annoyed. I didn't want to answer him but I didn't need to make him anymore mad than he already was.

"I heard you talking on your pokegear." I said looking up at him. He stared at me for a minute as he registered what I had said.

"And you think I'm going to leave you and run off to Sinnoh?" He asked with humor in his voice. I just nodded my head.

"You're such an idiot." He said rolling his eyes. "My job is to watch out for you until you're strong enough to take care of yourself. I'm afraid you're stuck with me for a while." He said with a small smile. It felt like a ton of bricks was removed from my shoulders as I breathed a sigh of relief.

"So you're not leaving me?" I asked just to make sure.

"Not any time soon." He said as he started walking back towards the Pokemon Center. I smiled and ran after him with the Pokemon right behind. It seemed like things weren't too bad... for the time being.

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><p><strong>Ok so reviews determine whether or not I continue so...ya. :P<strong>


	11. Mission complete

**Thanks so much to everyone that reviewed but especially Ambercatlucky2 you've really given me motivation to continue writing and so here's the next chapter :)**

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><p>The next day we were ready to head back to Kanto. I decided to call the triplets before we left to let them know we were heading to Fuchsia and would be back in Cerulean in a matter of days.<p>

"I'm so glad you're coming home soon!" June shouted at the screen. I rolled my eyes and laughed.

"Ya we've really missed you here." May added in her shy voice.

"I know I have, I've missed having someone who can actually battle here." April said with a smirk.

"I've missed all of you too, and I've caught some new Pokemon that I can't wait for you to meet!" I said and they all looked happy to hear it. I heard Brain sigh behind me and I knew he was waiting for me.

"Alright guys we're leaving now, I'll see you in a few days!" I said and waved good bye.

"Bye!" They all yelled at the same time. I sighed as I turned around to face Brian.

"Are you ready yet?" He asked in a sarcastic tone. I rolled my eyes and followed him out of the Pokemon Center.

"So how are we getting back to Kanto?" I asked as we walked.

"You'll see." He said as he kept walking in front of me. I looked over at Pikachu knowing that since he wasn't telling me I probably wasn't going to like it.

I found I was right as we walked into a building that said 'Pidgeot flying service'.

"And what are we doing here?" I asked even though I knew the answer.

"Isn't it obvious, we're riding a Pidgeot back to Kanto." He said as he went up to the counter to talk to a tall old man.

"Oh no we aren't!" I yelped as I saw a Pidgeot take off with a girl on it.

"Oh yes we are." He said as he came back over to me holding a ticket.

"Isn't there another way?" I asked as he dragged me outside.

"Nope." He stated and stopped in front of a huge Pidgeot. I really had nothing against Pidgeot. Personally I thought they were one of the most beautiful Pokemon out there. I just had one problem and that was that I'm terrified of heights.

"I'm not riding this." I said as I stared at the bird.

"Get on the Pokemon Kate." Brian said sounding annoyed.

"No." I said quickly stepping away from him. Brian sighed and reached into his bag and pulled out a rubber glove.

"What are you going to do with that?" I laughed.

My laughter stopped when he put on the glove and picked up Pikachu. Pikachu struggled to get out of his grasp but couldn't. He tried shocking him but the rubber glove prevented his attack from working. Brian sure thought that one through.

"Get on the bird or I take him with me and drop him from three stories up." Brian said with a serious expression.

"You wouldn't." I dared but from the look on his face I knew he just might.

Not wanting to risk it I quickly climbed onto the Pokemon's back. It ruffled its feathers causing me to shriek and grab onto the long feathers coming out of its head. It looked back at me with a glare and I quickly apologized. Brian threw Pikachu up onto my lap and climbed on behind me. I tensed at how close his body was to mine. He put his arms around me and grabbed onto Pidgeot's feathers, much nicer than I had.

"Ready?" He whispered into my ear causing me to shiver.

He chuckled as he gently pulled on the feathers and the Pokemon took off into the air. I shriek as we took off and closed my eyes afraid to look down.

"You know you're missing out on a great view." Brian mocked from behind me.

"That's ok." I stated holding onto Pidgeot's feathers even tighter. I'm sure it was glaring at me but I didn't really care.

"I'm not going to let you fall." Brain said gently into my ear sending more shivers down my back.

I felt slightly better from his comment but I still didn't open my eyes.

"Come on just open your eyes." He said.

I slowly opened one of my eyes and saw just how high up we were. I gasped but before I could close my eyes again I felt Brian's arm grab onto my waist. I looked back at him and he smiled at me.

"I told you I won't let you fall." He said and I felt my face grow red as I looked anywhere but at him.

The flight was long and I was relieved when we finally landed in a forest just outside of Fuchsia. We thanked the Pidgeot as it flew back to the nearest flying service station.

I put Pikachu into my bag and noticed Brian had put in his contacts and we entered the city. Brian knew right where the secret base was located and we found it easily. We came to a stop in front of an old factory and Brian held up his pokegear to a small window that was actually a scanner. I couldn't help but think that was pretty clever. The door opened to our left and we walked in.

The base was exactly the same as the other bases I had been in. When we walked in we came right into the main room which was smaller than the one in Cerulean but was still big. Pikachu jumped out of my bag and onto my shoulder. I smiled down at him as we walked straight over to the commander's desk and I noticed the commander was a girl which was a first for me. She was tall and had the body of a model. Her hair was a dark magenta color and went all the way down to her waste. She had to be one of the most beautiful people I had ever seen.

"Brian Dean." She said with a smile as we walked up. "You're just as cute as ever!" She chimed as she pinched his cheeks. The look on Brian's face was a mix between annoyance and anger but I just laughed.

"And you must be Kate Leaf." She said as she let go of Brian and looked me over. "You're even more adorable in person!" She shrieked as she also pinched my face. I could see why Brian had such an unhappy look on his face. I felt like she was going to rip my cheeks off when she finally let go.

"I'm Sierra the commander here." She said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you." I said as I rubbed my face.

"Glad to see you made it here in one piece, I hear you ran into some difficulties." She said with a frown.

"Nothing I couldn't handle." Brian stated. I shook my head at him considering if he hadn't left me alone it probably wouldn't have happened.

"So I hear you have a package for me?" She asked looking back and forth between me and Brian.

Brian pulled out the box and handed it to her. With a smile she opened it up and pulled out a beautiful charm bracelet.

"Why did we deliver a bracelet?" I asked Brian and he shrugged his shoulders looking just as confused as I was.

She reached back into the box and pulled out a small card and read it aloud.

"To my dear Sierra, sorry I haven't called in a while I've been busy. I hope this makes up for it love Cal." She read the last part in an annoyed voice and she quickly crumbled the paper into a ball. I noticed a lot of the people in the room stopped and looked at Sierra in a worried way and I found out why.

"That jerk!" She yelled as she threw the paper to the ground. "He doesn't call for weeks and thinks that he can just send me a stupid bracelet and get away with it? He didn't even deliver it himself! He sends a couple of kids who were late!" She shouted. I was shocked to see the nice woman who stood before me only moments ago turned into a crazy angry lady. "Well I'll show him a thing or two. He thinks he can just get away with acting like that towards me!" She continued and looked over at me.

"You! Give me your pokegear." Afraid of her anger I quickly handed her the device on my wrist. She quickly plugged it into her computer and it came up on the giant screen that was on the wall for all to see. She then dialed Cal's number and I knew he was in for it.

"Kate how's it going? You make it back to Kanto in one piece?" Cal said as soon as he picked up. He then realized just who was calling him and the shocked look on his face showed he knew he was in trouble.

"So you never answer when I call but you pick up on the first ring when it's this little girl?" Sierra yelled in anger. I felt a little shocked that she had to bring me into it.

"Hey baby how are you doing?" Cal said trying to be nice and get out of it.

"Don't give me that crap!" She shouted at him. "You haven't talked to me in weeks and you think sending a bracelet would make that ok?"

"Well I hoped so." Cal said as he shrunk into his chair.

"You are the most pathetic excuse for a man! I should leave you for someone more reliable and gentleman like, someone like him!" She shouted pointing at Brian who just looked annoyed leaning against a wall with his hands in his pockets. I assumed he had seen this before because he didn't look the least bit surprised.

"I'm sorry! I'll make it up to you!" Cal begged.

"It's too late." She said turning away from him.

"Did I tell you how lovely you look today?" He said with hope. She turned back towards him and tried not to look flattered.

"That's a start." She said with a small smile.

"I swear I'll call you more often now at least twice a day!" He said with a smile.

"You better, or next time I'll come down there to yell at you in person." She warned and Cal actually looked scared. I couldn't help but wonder why he was dating her. She had to be the scariest woman I had ever met. She hung up and handed the pokegear back to me.

"Thanks." She said with a warm smile. This lady had some serious issues.

"No problem." I said trying not to sound too freaked out.

We decided to stay in Fuchsia for the night and leave for Cerulean in the morning. However the next day we weren't able to leave as soon as we had hoped.

"Brian, there's something I need to show you." Sierra said as we walked out the next morning. She pulled up some pictures onto the main screen.

"These were sent to us this morning by the main base. Some citizens in town reported seeing them in the forest." The pictures showed a machine that was being moved by some grunts. Some other pictures showed Pokemon that had dark red eyes.

"What happened to those Pokemon?" I asked as more and more pictures of the red eyed Pokemon came onto the screen.

"We're not sure exactly but we think it might have something to do with the machine. It's somehow controlling Pokemon." Sierra said with a frown.

I gasped in shock since I didn't even think that was possible. I looked over at Brian who didn't even seem phased by the news and something told me this wasn't the first he's heard about it. I stared at the machine intently and realized I had seen it before. Remembering the papers I had taken from Moondusk when I was captured I pulled them out of my bag.

"I knew I've seen that before." I said as I showed them the blueprints that seemed to be for the machine. This time Brian did look shocked as he took the blueprints from my hands.

"Where did you get these?" He asked as he studied them.

"I took them when I escaped from Moondusk." I stated as he handed the papers to Sierra.

"Send these to the main base." He stated and she nodded.

"Is there anyway you can investigate this for us? I know that you're supposed to be leaving but you know more about this than any of us." She said with a frown.

Brian stared at her for a minute deciding whether or not he would go and then nodded. He then started towards the exit and I followed with Pikachu on my shoulder.

"You're not coming." He stated as he stopped and turned towards me.

"Do you not remember what happened last time you left me behind?" I stated and a look of sorrow flashed across his face but it quickly went away.

"Fine, but don't do anything stupid." He stated and we walked out towards the forest.

I followed close behind. We walked until we saw a camp that looked just like the one I was held in but this one wasn't empty. There were at least twenty grunts walking around the camp. Brian stopped and ducked behind some bushes and I quickly followed his movements. We looked over the bush to see some grunts messing with one of the machines. We watched as two other grunts brought some Rattata that were locked in a cage.

"Alright let's test to make sure this one works." One said as he motioned for one of the others to hand him a Rattata.

The poor Pokemon struggled in the grasp of the grunt but was too small to put up much of a fight. The grunt pulled some cords out of the machine and hooked them onto the Pokemon.

"What are they doing?" I whispered to Brian but he just ignored me as he stared at the scene before him.

The grunt turned on the machine and what happened next was something I could never forget. As soon as it was turned on the Rattata cried out in pain. It squirmed and struggled as the pain seemed to become worse judging by his cries. I quickly jerked up to go help but was pulled back down by Brian.

"I said don't do anything stupid." He stated as he stared at me hard.

"They're hurting it, we can't just sit here and do nothing!" I said louder than I intended.

"Yes we can." He said as he looked back over to the poor Pokemon.

I felt tears start to form in my eyes as I watched it suffer. I knew Brian wasn't heartless, he had a reason for not jumping out and saving that Pokemon but part of me was angry that he did nothing. After what seemed like an eternity the Pokemon finally stopped its shrieks and the grunts unhooked the machine. The Rattata no longer struggled in their grasp. They set it down and it sat in front of them in an obedient manner that reminded me of a loyal Growlithe. I then saw its eyes, they were a dark red. I gasped as I realized what they had done. All the torture that Pokemon went through was so they could control it.

"Well, it worked better than I expected. The boss will be please." One of them said.

"Yes but it takes a lot to power it." Another added.

"Who cares, our machine is a success and that's all that matters right now." A third one added.

"Let's report back to HQ." The first one said and they all walked into one of the tents.

"Let's go." Brian said as he stood up and started to walk away.

"All of that and you do nothing?" I stated as I followed him.

"What can I do? Attacking them now will only lead to a huge fight." He said as he kept walking.

"But what about all those Pokemon?" I asked as I stopped in my tracks.

"You need to understand something Kate." He said as he turned around and gave me a stern look.

"We aren't here to play the hero. As a member of the resistance your job is to follow your orders. You don't attack unless attacked, got it?" He said as he turned back around.

"You're a coward." I said under my breath and he stopped in his tracks.

"If you think following orders is more important than a living creature than you aren't even human!" I added as I glared at him. He turned around and returned my glare.

"You wouldn't understand." He said.

"No I guess I wouldn't. So help me understand." I replied trying not to raise my voice.

"Do you honestly think I didn't want to help that Pokemon? You have no idea all the times where I wanted to do something but couldn't and do you know why?" He said and I could tell he was trying not to be angry.

"Because I'm no good to anyone dead." He finished and continued walking away.

I stood there for a minute as I registered what he had said. I quickly followed when I heard the voices of the grunts in the forest behind me. Brian had a point, there were too many grunts there and I knew I couldn't have fought them all. I wasn't even sure if Brian would've been able to take on all of them alone. I realized as much as I wanted to help that Rattata I wouldn't have been any help anyway.

After Brian talked to Sierra for what seemed like forever we were finally on our way back to Cerulean. The day's events got me thinking on what it really meant to be working for the resistance. I made my decision that I was going to become stronger so I could protect those who needed it. I looked up at Brian who was walking with his usual carefree attitude. He was always protecting me and who knew, maybe someday I could do the same for him.

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><p><strong>There really wasn't much to this chapter, it was sort of like a filler with a little new knowledge in there. Hopefully there will be a lot more action in the next few chapters. Review please :)<strong>


	12. It's a catastrophe!

**Wow sorry this one took so long. I had some serious writers block so this chapter didn't really turn out how I hoped but here it is anyway! I'd like the thank everyone that's reviewed and sorry for making you wait for this update. Without further ado on with the story! :D**

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><p>"Welcome back!" The triplets yelled as we made our way into the Cerulean base.<p>

"Hey guys!" I said as they gave me a group hug. Pikachu climbed out of his place in my bag and they all took turns giving him hugs. Brian walked past us and went to talk to Cal.

"So let's see your new Pokemon!" June said with a smile.

"I'd like to battle against them." May added. It wasn't often May asked for a battle so I figured why not?

"How about a double battle?" June asked as she looked over to May who nodded.

"Sure." I said shrugging my shoulders.

"By yourself?" April asked. I nodded my head.

"I think I can do this on my own." I said as I smirked over at the other two girls.

We made our way to the battle field and the two girls sent out their Pokemon first. June sent out her Flareon and May sent out her Vaporeon.

"Alright let's go!" I yelled as I sent out Sandshrew and Chikorita. I hadn't actually had a real battle with either of them. I'd trained with them but it wasn't really the same and I was excited to see how they did, especially since they had to work together.

"They're so cute!" May yelled over to me with a smile. I smiled back.

"Ya they're cute but they aren't as darling as my beautiful Flareon!" June said with a wink. We all rolled our eyes at her remark.

"Are you going to start anytime soon?" April asked from the sidelines with Pikachu perched on her shoulder.

"Vaporeon, use water gun on Sandshrew!" May called out starting the battle.

"Use defense curl!" I ordered and Sandshrew curled up into a ball. The water gun hit but didn't even effect Sandshrew.

"Razor leaf Chikorita!" I called out and Chikorita hurled leafs at the two Pokemon.

"Torch em'." June shouted and Flareon easily burned the incoming leafs to a crisp but she didn't burn the ones headed toward Vaporeon and the attack hit her directly.

"Way to only look out for yourself." May said with a glare to June.

"Well I didn't think you'd just stand there like and idiot!" June countered.

I took advantage of their bickering and called out my next move.

"Sandshrew use dig!" Sandshrew burrowed his way under ground and popped back up hitting Flareon straight on. The two girls finally focused their attention back on to the battle only for me to strike again.

"Now Chikorita grab them with vine whip." Chikorita grabbed both the Pokemon with her vines and held them in the air.

"Swift!" I called out to Sandshrew and he shot the attack hitting both the defenseless struggling Pokemon.

"Throw them Chikorita!" I ordered and Chikorita sent them flying. They landed on the ground with a thud.

"Ok now we get serious." June said with a smile as the Pokemon stood back up.

"Show them your dazzling fire!" She called out to her Flareon. Flareon shot a powerful flamethrower at Chikorita and hit her straight on.

"Now use water pulse!" May yelled. Vaporeon used water pulse and I had Sandshrew once again use defense curl but the water pulse sent him spinning. Sandshrew came out of the ball looking incredibly dizzy and I looked over to see Chikorita struggling to stand up from the fire attack.

"What do you say we attack together sister?" June said and May nodded.

"Quick attack!" They called together and both their Pokemon rammed into mine knocking them both down but they weren't done yet.

Sandshrew and Chikorita both stood up and nodded to each other.

"Sandshrew herd them together with rollout!" I called and Sandshrew used his rollout to circle both the Pokemon.

"Finish this with your razor leaf Chikorita!" I called and Chikorita sent out her attack which Flareon once again easily burned but Vaporeon was hit and kocked out. Sandshrew finished that battle by knocking out Flareon with his rollout.

"You've gotten a lot better." April said as she walked over and gave me a high five.

I smiled at her compliment as May and June walked over.

"I really thought we'd win." June said with a frown. I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Brian really has trained you well." May said quietly. I looked over to find that Brian was no longer in the room and was about to set off to look for him when a message came on the speakers.

"Attention members, there is a mandatory meeting in the main room." A voice said that I recognized as Cal's.

"So um, make your way there. And um, I guess I should be heading there too. Why am I still talking?" He rambled on. I rolled my eyes and walked there with the triplets.

By the time we were in the main room it was already filled with all the members and we had to squeeze our way to the back against the wall. I saw Brian leaning against the wall on the other side of the room with his arms crossed looking bored as usual.

"Attention!" Cal said as he stood up on a chair so everyone could see him. Of all the rooms we had at the base we didn't have one where we could all get together for meetings and I couldn't help but think we could use one. No one seemed to hear Cal's call as they all continued their talking.

"Ok ok settle down now." He tried but was once again ignored.

"Shut up!" April yelled from next to me and the room went silent.

"Thank you." Cal said. "Now as you all know things in Sinnoh seem to be getting worse." He said with a look of sadness. There were a few murmurs so Cal continued before it once again grew loud.

"And now Kanto isn't too far behind." He added and there were many gasps from around the room.

"With only three major cities left not in control of Moondusk things aren't looking good. But unlike Sinnoh there aren't as many Moondusk members here in Kanto. We also have many more resistance members here than there and so the main base has sent an announcement stating that there will be a region wide retaliation. In a few hours the message will be sent that all resistance bases in the major cities in the Kanto region are to take back their cities." He stated and with that the whole room went into an uproar. Even April couldn't keep quiet about it.

"Take back the city? But there are so many grunts in Cerulean." One boy stated.

"Ya but don't forget we have Brian Dean here. With him here there's no way we can lose!" A girl said with a dreamy look in her eyes. The boy nodded.

"That's right I heard he helped prevent the take over of Celadon!" Another boy said jumping into the conversation.

I glanced back over to where Brian was to find he was no longer there. Before I could go look for him the crowd was once again hushed.

"The cities that are still free from Moondusk will be sending as many members as they can around Kanto, though there is no guarantee any of them will come here. We have to rely on the members we have here now. You all have a couple of hours to prepare for battle. I know some of you are not up to the challenge so it is not mandatory to help but your help would be very much needed. With that said those of you who would like to help please meet back here in less than two hours. Dismissed." Cal said as he jumped down from the chair.

I quickly shoved my way out of the crowd to find Brian. I found him standing outside staring at the clouds.

"I suppose there's no talking you out of fighting." He said when I came to a stop next to him. I shook my head as Pikachu jumped down from my shoulder and looked up at me. I released my other Pokemon to play with him and he smiled at their company.

"Then here." He said as he handed me an orange stone. I looked at it closer to find it was a fire stone.

"What's this for?" I asked as I looked down at Growlithe. I knew exactly what it was for.

"Kate this is going to be dangerous. Your Pokemon may not be strong enough and I may not be able to protect you." He said.

"I don't need you to." I replied as Growlithe came over for me to pet him.

"I'm not going to make Growlithe evolve because you don't think I can take care of myself." I added as I glared up at him. Growlithe stared at the firestone and growled at it, apparently he didn't like the idea either.

"Trust me, if everything goes smoothly, he won't have to." He said as he walked back into the building. I sighed as I put the stone into my bag. Growlithe never took his eyes off of it and I patted his head.

"Don't worry buddy, I won't make you do anything you don't want to." I said with a smile and he licked my face making me giggle.

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><p>After a little over an hour I decided it was time to head back in. As I walked into the building I easily found Brian and went to stand by him. I looked around and noticed the room wasn't as full as it had been earlier. It figured since a lot of the members here didn't battle with Pokemon, they did other things to help out. I'm sure a lot of them didn't even own a Pokemon and were helping the cause in anyway they could.<p>

"Alright this is how it's going to go down." Cal said once again standing on the chair.

"We'll go in groups of at least two. I don't want anyone out there by themselves." He stated and I noticed everyone started pairing up on their own.

I looked over at Brian and I felt it was obvious I'd be with him since he didn't even budge.

"Ok the left half of the room, you guys have the upper part of the city. And right half the lower part." He said as he signaled who was going where.

"I don't want anyone doing anything reckless we don't need any casualties." He stated as he made a point to look at each person.

"If you think you can't handle a situation then back down, no one will blame you if it's too much for you." He said looking at the more reckless people in the room and even taking a quick glance in my direction. I wasn't sure if he was looking at me or Brian, for all I know it could've been both.

"Now the point is to take back the city, so once we go out your job is to get them out. However if you have the opportunity you may apprehend them and bring them back here to be placed in our custody for questioning. If they run away don't bother chasing them." He added. He looked down at his phone and had received a call. He answered and after a few seconds with a nod of his head he hung up.

"Let's get this show on the road." He said with a nervous grin.

We all quickly left the base and were into our positions. The first part went pretty smoothly. We came out with an all out attack and the grunts didn't see it coming. We were easily able to beat a lot of them but things got rough when they called in back up. The grunts that came in had special Pokemon. They were using Pokemon that had dark red eyes and I could easily tell they were being controlled by one of their machines. We also noticed something else about the controlled Pokemon, they were a lot stronger than they should've been.

"Mightyena shadow ball!" The grunt yelled and his Pokemon shot out its attack, hitting Pikachu directly. He flew back and yelped as he hit the ground.

"Pikachu!" I yelled as I ran over to him.

"Dark pulse!" Brian yelled to his Umbreon and he easily took out the Mightyena.

The grunt returned the controlled Pokemon and ran for it. I picked up Pikachu and put him in my bag. There was no way I'd be able to get him to the Pokemon Center at the moment. Brian stared at me for a minute but once again stared walking when his pokegear started ringing.

"What?" He answered.

"Brian, the grunts in the front of the city brought in some Steelix and they're having trouble with them. They need you down there." Cal said and quickly hung up. Brian looked over to me and I nodded.

We got down to where two Steelix were to find all our members who were there were losing the fight. As soon as they saw Brian and me they recalled their Pokemon and ran for it. Brian rolled his eyes and we walked over to the giant Pokemon to find they also had the red eyes which explained why they were so strong. He pulled out a pokeball and looked over at me signaling for me to do the same. I decided to go with Growlithe since fire types are super effective against steel types. I threw out his pokeball and he came out with a cry of his name. I looked over to see Brian had sent out his Croconaw. The two Steelix looked down at us ready to fight and I got a feeling that the fight wasn't going to end well.

The first Steelix used and iron tail aimed directly at Growlithe. The small Pokemon was easily able to jump out of the way.

"Use flamethrower!" I yelled over to him. He nodded his head and shot out his flames hitting the large Pokemon directly. I smiled but it quickly faded when I saw the Pokemon was barely effected. I glanced over to see Brian's Croconaw was also having trouble with the large Pokemon, though he was doing better than Growlithe.

"Try a fire spin!" I commanded and Growlithe shot a tornado of fire at the Steelix.

The large attack even had Brian looking over amazed. The attack once again hit the Pokemon but it didn't do much damage. Growlithe growled in frustration and I couldn't blame him. The Steelix seemed to grow bored of Growlithe and smacked him away with its tail. I watched as my Pokemon was thrown against a tree. Noticing he didn't get up I made an attempt to run to him but was stopped by the enormous Steelix. Since it no longer had Growlithe as an opponent it decided to go after me.

I screamed as I was nearly able to avoid its iron tail. Pikachu quickly went into action though he knew he didn't stand a chance he climbed out of my bag and ran towards the Pokemon. The Steelix made many attempts to hit him but Pikachu's speed was too much.

In frustration the Steelix once again turned its attention back to me only this time I didn't have time to react. The large tail headed straight for me but before it could hit I felt a force push me out of the way. I looked up just in time to see Brian take the attack. I screamed his name as I watched the Steelix hit him and send him flying and hit the ground with a thud. Panic rushed through me when he didn't get up. I was on my own now.

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><p><strong>Well there the chapter that didn't seem to want to write it's self :P I hope it was OK so leave a review ;)<strong>


	13. Too much drama!

**Hello people of fanfiction! I'm really sorry this update took so long! My computer crashed and I lost this chapter so I had to rewrite it on my mom's laptop. Plus I started school! I know I'm making excuses, and for that I am sorry. I'm just glad I finally finished this chapter because for some reason it was really hard to write and it's really short! Ok I'll let you read the story now :P**

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><p>"Brian?" I called out, but received no response.<p>

"Brian!" I yelled even louder. He still didn't move.

Fear was rushing through me. Not only did I not know if Brian was ok but I also had two giant Steelix staring at me intently. Pikachu once again tried to avert their attetion back to him but they wanted nothing to do with him. The Steelix once again tried to hit me with it's massive tail but it was stopped by Umbreon who to say the least, looked extremely pissed. Umbreon shot multiple shadow balls, all hitting their target. The first Steelix went down. The second seemed to become angered by this and quickly wrapped itself around Umbreon squeezing him tightly. Umbreon cried out in pain as it struggled against the large Pokemon but couldn't break free from its grasp.

I couldn't move from where I sat on the ground. Things seemed so hopeless. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Growlithe stand up. I looked over to see him slowly make his way over to where my backpack had fallen. I was about to question what he was doing when I saw he started digging in my bag. He quickly found what he was looking for and pulled the fire stone out of the bag.

"Growlithe, what are you doing?" I yelled over to him. He ignored me as he started glowing. I stared in awe as he started growing and changing shape. After the glowing stopped a large Arcanine stood before me. The Steelix that was knocked out by Umbreon was able to get back up and noticing his new opponent the Steelix sent an iron tail straight toward the newly evolved Arcanine. Arcanine easily avoided the attack. He looked over to me waiting for a command. I smiled over at him as I was finally able to stand up.

"Fire spin!" I called out. He shot out a giant tornado of fire that slammed right into the massive Steelix. The Pokemon went down once again shaking the ground when it hit.

"Quick free Umbreon!" I called out. Arcanine shot out a powerful flame which the Steelix couldn't avoid since it was holding onto Umbreon. The Pokemon went down releasing Umbreon from its grasp.

The grunts returned their Pokemon and ran in fear of my powerful fire type. I quickly ran over to Brian. He was awake lying on the ground holding his arm to his side where he was hit.

"How bad?" I asked him. I noticed his breathing was heavy and concern flooded through me. Pikachu and Umbreon ran over to where we were on the floor.

"I've been better." He muttered then flinched and sucked in a quick breath. I figured it hurt him just to talk and knew I needed to get help.

"Don't worry, it's going to be ok. You're going to be ok." I said mostly to reassure myself. He slightly nodded his head and closed his eyes.

I opened up my pokegear and called Cal and told him everything that happened.

"Stay where you are, I'm sending help!" He said and quickly hung up to call whoever he was going to send as help.

I looked down at Brian who was once again unconscious. I brushed his hair out of his eyes and just stared at his sleeping face. I couldn't help but notice how good looking he was when he slept. I shook my head dismissing the thoughts.

"You're falling for him." A familiar voice stated. I held in a breath as I looked up to see Damon a few feet away. I glared at him as intensely as I could but knew it wasn't very convincing.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I said looking away from him. I heard Pikachu growl at him and I put my hand on his head to calm him.

"You make it obvious, why else would you stare at him like that." He chuckled.

"He's just my friend, I'm worried about him! And as his brother you should be too!" I yelled feeling the anger replace the fear.

"Who said I wasn't?" He said as he walked a little closer.

"Keep away." I warned. As Pikachu and Umbreon got into battle stances.

"Relax, I'm worried." He said with a smirk. "I told them to be careful with him. Grunts are never good at following orders." He stated as he looked down at Brian.

It took a few seconds for his words to register in my mind. Ordering grunts? What was that about? Did that mean Damon is working for Team Moondusk?

"You...?" Was all I could manage to say. He smiled at me with a smile so evil it sent shivers down my spine.

"Oh so he didn't tell you?" Damon laughed.

"Who are you?" I finally managed to ask.

"The leader of Team Moondusk at your service." He said with a bow. I was frozen in fear. It made sense why Brian hated his brother. I wouldn't want to be related to such an evil person.

"You look so surprised." He said with a laugh. "Is it because you fell for the wrong brother?" He said looking down at Brian as if he were pathetic for getting hurt.

"He is the weak one after all, letting his feelings get in the way." He added with a frown.

"I'm not surprised, I'm just disappointed in you." I said as I stood up to face him. I was done being afraid. Leader of Moondusk or not his brother was seriously injured and he didn't even care.

"I don't care who you are." I said louder than I had intended. "But you can't talk about Brian that way. He's a better man than you'll ever be and you know why? It's because he cares about other people, but you're just a lonely soul."

He smiled that wicked smile once again.

"I see it now. You are one worth protecting." He finished.

"Kate!" I heard a voice yell. I turned around to see a familiar face.

"Caleb?" I was surprised to see him here of all places. I turned back around to find Damon was gone. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Man Kate are you ok?" Caleb asked as he ran over to me

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"I was sent here to help with the attack." He stated. I suddenly remembered Brian and knelt down back to where he was.

"Cal filled me in, we need to get him to a hospital." He said as also knelt down.

"Are you ok?" Caleb asked as he inspected Brian's injury.

"I've been better." I stated staring down at Brian.

It had just hit me what he's been going through. His own brother was the leader of Team Moondusk and despite that he still fights hard to stop him. I knew if it were my brother I wouldn't have it in me to ever hate him. Maybe there was more to the story that I didn't know. One thing's for sure, I had to do my best to help Brian stop his brother but first we had to make sure Brian was okay. My life is filled with too much drama.

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><p><strong>Phew finally! This was one crazy chapter :P Let me know what you think with a review!<strong>


	14. A new fan and a familiar face!

**_Ok well here is the next chapter. I've had it written for a while I just haven't gotten around to uploading it. But now you can finally read it! I hope you enjoy! :)_**

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><p><em>"I see it now, you are one worth protecting." <em>

Damon's words kept replaying in my mind. I couldn't think of what he could have meant. All I did was tell him how much of a jerk he was I didn't think that made me someone special. I felt like my brain was going to explode with all of the things on my mind.

"Are you sure you're ok?" April asked for what seemed to be the fiftieth time that day.

"For the millionth time yes!" I yelled as I looked up from my drink.

The battle for Cerulean City was over and we had a pretty strong victory thanks to all of the brave members that had helped. It went smoothly and there weren't any injuries, well aside from just one. I sighed at the thought.

We had gotten Brian safely back to the base and he was going to be ok. Nothing was broken but he did have some internal damage. It was all my fault that he got hurt, if I didn't freeze up he wouldn't have had to push me out of the way. I felt so guilty I wasn't even able to sleep the night before.

"I'm sorry." April said after a moment of silence.

"No I'm sorry for yelling." I said looking down at Pikachu who was trying to comfort Umbreon. The poor Pokemon was really upset about Brian, and was even more upset that he couldn't see his trainer until he woke up and who knew when that would be.

"Stop blaming yourself." Caleb said as he sat next to me.

"But it was my fault." I stated.

"It wasn't anyone's fault, what happened is what happened and that's all there is to it. He's going to be ok Kate." He said as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

I felt a strange sensation where his hand was but I ignored it. I was starting to become impatient waiting for Brian to finally wake up. My thoughts went back to when I was in the hospital. Did I leave Brian feeling this way waiting for me to wake up? My thoughts drifted to Alec and I couldn't help but wish he was here.

"Kate." Cal said from behind me causing me to jump.

"What?" I asked as I turned around to face him annoyed that he startled me.

"What's with the attitude?" He mocked. I glared at him and he smiled.

"Just thought I'd let you know a certain someone is awake." As soon as the words left his mouth I jumped up from the table.

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><p>I walked into the room expecting to see Brian looking a mess but he looked like normal Brian. His bed was tilted into a sitting position and he gave me a small smile as I walked in. I held in a breath as I walked over and sat next to him. It took all I had not to cry.<p>

"What's with the sad expression?" He asked as I stared into his blue eyes.

"What sad expression?" I asked pretending not to know what he was talking about. He just rolled his eyes.

"If you're going to be depressing I don't want you in here." He joked.

"I'm not being depressing!" I said perking up and putting on a fake smile.

"Well ok then, so are you ok?" He asked.

"I should be the one asking you that." I said with a forced laugh. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Really, I'm fine. I was just a little worried about you but you're ok so I'm good." The eyebrow once again went up.

"If you say so." He said.

Everyone else finally came into the room and Umbreon looked relieved to finally be near Brian again.

"Good to see you awake." Cal said from behind April.

"I hope you know this is partially your fault." Brian stated.

"I didn't hit you with a steel tail!" Cal shouted looking shocked.

"No, but you're the one that sent me over there. I'd say part of it is your fault." Brian stated with a smirk.

Cal looked extremely upset by the comment causing everyone in the room to laugh.

"He's just kidding." I reassured him.

Cal let out a sigh and the rest of us laughed once again. I looked over at Brian to see him staring at me. I started to feel a little self conscious.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." He said with a shrug but winced at the movement. My breath caught in my throat as I realized as much as he's acting ok he was anything but. Just a slight movement hurt him and it was all my fault. Noticing my moment of distress he reached over and squeezed my hand to reassure me he was ok. His hand was warm and I could feel my face grow red from the touch.

"I'm going to go get some air." I said and left the room with Pikachu on my shoulder.

"Pika?" He questioned as I walked out.

"It was just getting a little crowded in there." I stated avoiding his gaze.

"Pika?" He mocked.

"It's not like I have feelings for him or anything!" I said as Pikachu kept up the accuzing looks.

"Well what do you know?" I said shoving him off my shoulder.

"Pikachu pika." He said sounding proud of himself. I ignored him and continued my way outside.

I couldn't like Brian could I? I was only feeling strange because it was my fault he got hurt. That had to be it. Who could like that jerk? Well lots of girls actually, he is good looking. I sighed and sat down feeling frustrated. Pikachu happily sat on my lap.

"Thanks a lot." I muttered. He just looked up at me with a grin.

"You're Kate Leaf!" A kid stated as he walked up. I just nodded as I glanced up at him.

"Wow this is such an honor!" He said as he held out his hand. I stood up to shake it.

"And you are?" I asked.

"Oh I'm sorry, I'm Luke." He said with shining eyes.

"Meeting you is like meeting a celebrity." He added.

"It's nice to meet you, but I'm not really that famous." I stated with a shrug of my shoulder.

"Sure you are! You're Alec's sister, and you travel around with Brian Dean!" He stated. I once again just shrugged my shoulder.

"Amazing that you're ok though. I heard you got hurt." He said looking puzzled.

"No actually that was Brian, he got hurt saving me." I said looking down. "Where did you hear that?" I added.

"From him." He said pointing to a boy that was walking up.

I couldn't help but gasp. He was tall just as I remembered him. His shaggy brown hair was covering his forehead but I could still see those familiar brown eyes that matched my own. He smiled that big smile at me as soon as he saw me. He ran up and wrapped me in a hug and let out a breath.

"I thought something bad happened to you." He said over my shoulder.

All I could say was one thing.

"Alec?"

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><p><strong>Cliffhanger! That's what I live for! :P Lets get some reviews! :)<strong>


	15. He's back!

**Wow it's been over a month since I last updated and for that I am sorry. I still lack a computer so it can be hard to update sometimes but I promise I'll be quicker about it next time! So finally here's the next chapter!**

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><p>"Alec?"<p>

"Long time no see eh?" He said with an apologetic smile.

"I missed you." I said and buried my face in his shirt.

"I missed you too kiddo." He said over my shoulder. I laughed at the old nickname. I held back tears as I finally let go of him to look up at his face.

"You've grown up so much." He said with a smile as he ruffled my hair.

"So have you." I said back noticing just how much he had changed. His hair was longer and he was a lot taller. His features were more grown up as well and the only thing that didn't look any different was his smile.

"Pikachu Pika!" Pikachu yelled from the ground. We both looked down at him and laughed.

"I haven't forgotten you little buddy." Alec said as he held out his arms for Pikachu. He happily leaped into Alec's open arms to lick his face.

"I can see you've taken good care of her just like I asked." Alec said and Pikachu nodded with a smile and jumped over to my arms.

"I'd say it's the other way around." I mocked and Pikachu playfully hit me with his tail making me giggle.

"You guys sure got close." Alec laughed. "I can still remember when you hated each other."

The memory made me laugh too. I was pretty young when my dad gave Alec his first Pokémon, Pikachu. We would both fight over my brother's attention. We eventually learned to get along but we never really bonded until I got older. It's almost hard to believe he's my best friend now.

"Not that I'm not amazingly happy to see you, but why are you here?" I asked him.

"I got a text from Brian saying you were hurt." He stated looking serious. "I'm going to kill him for lying."

"That's impossible; Brian couldn't have sent you a message." I stated. He gave me a confused look.

"Because, Brian is the one that got hurt." I explained. His eyes went wide.

"I-is he….?" He asked with concern.

"He's ok now don't worry." I said with a small smile. He let out a breath. I didn't get why he was so concerned. I didn't think they knew each other that well and from what I had heard before they didn't get along very well either.

Alec looked over to Luke as if he had forgotten he was standing there.

"Thanks for leading me through the forest, I wouldn't have gotten here as fast if it weren't for you." Alec said with a smile.

"Y-you're welcome." The kid said with a grin. He looked like he was about to explode with happiness. He waved goodbye and ran off.

"What do you say we go inside?" Alec said as he made his way to the door. I had a feeling that wasn't going to be a very good idea. I was right of course.

"Aren't you Alec Leaf?" A girl asked as soon as we walked in.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes as every girl in the room turned towards us. And with a girly shriek they were all crowding around. I let out a sigh. Being with Alec near girls is even worse than Brian. Remembering Brian I grabbed Alec's sleeve and pulled him towards the medical wing.

Once we got through the door the girls were all shoved out by a very angry looking nurse.

"Does that happen all the time?" I asked.

"I usually avoid places where people would recognize me, so no." He stated.

"That makes sense. I think Brian actually likes the attention he gets." I said rolling my eyes. I looked over to see Alec staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." He said with a smile.

When we walked into the room everyone turned and stared. I'm sure they didn't expect me to go for a walk and come back with my long lost brother in tow.

"How did you? Where did you?" Was all Cal could spit out.

"Hey everyone. This is my brother Alec." I said trying to hold back laughter at their expressions.

April looked incredibly shocked and June looked like she was about to pass out. I glanced over to see Brian looking more confused than surprised.

"What are you doing here?" Brian asked sounding unhappy.

"I guess I got some false information." Alec said in a similar tone.

"And that means?" Brian asked sounding annoyed.

"I got a message from your pokegear telling me Kate was injured." He said simply.

"So you just automatically assumed I sent you a fake message right?" Brian asked. Despite the anger in his voice he was spot on, but of course I wasn't going to tell him that.

"That doesn't matter." Alec stated as he reached over and grabbed Brian's pokegear.

"What does matter is who sent me that message and why." He said as he went through Brian's sent messages. He huffed in anger when he didn't find anything.

"If the message didn't come from Brian's pokegear then whose did it come from?" Cal wondered out loud.

"I bet I have a good idea." Brian said with a serious expression and I knew exactly who he was talking about.

"But why?" I asked.

"Simple, to lure Alec out of hiding." Brian said as I looked over at my brother who glanced over at me.

"He came running when I went missing so of course he'd come if he thought I was seriously hurt." I added.

"They want the stone." Cal stated.

"Well they're wasting their time." Alec said looking over at him.

"I don't have it."

"Then where is it?" Cal asked.

"If I told you that it wouldn't be a secret anymore." He said with a fake grin.

We knew not to ask anymore questions. Obviously Alec was hiding something but he had a good reason to. Any information he gave us could put us in danger.

"So how long are you going to stay?" I asked him later as we sat outside.

"Well, like I said I don't have the stone so staying for a little while shouldn't hurt." He said with a smile.

"You mean it?" I asked with a grin.

"Of course, and with Brian down for a while it looks like you're going to need someone to look out for you."

I had to admit I'd never been so happy in my life. I finally got my brother back. It all seemed like a dream that was just too good to be true. Of course with my life nothing was ever easy, I knew somehow, someway, something was going to get in the way. If only I was wrong…

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><p><strong>Well I hope it was worth the wait :P Nothing really happened in this chapter but I hope the next one will be a little more entertaining! Review please! :)<strong>


	16. Left behind

**Yay I finally got to updating! I'm such a slacker :P So here's the chapter!**

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><p>After a couple of days Brian was finally able to move around. He walked a little slow but I was glad to see him recovering. Alec and I had a lot of time to reconnect. He told me about the places he'd been and he even had a secret girlfriend that no one else knew about. Her name was Celia and she lived in Johto. He described her as the most perfect girl to ever walk the earth and despite his over exaggeration I thought it was cute.<p>

"I don't get it." I said one day as we sat outside.

"What?" He asked.

"Why would they send that message to get you here and not even attack?" I asked as I scanned the forest.

"I'm sure they're planning on it." He stated.

"Well where are they?" I asked as Pikachu also took a few glances around.

"They're out there." He said simply as he too looked around his surroundings. His eyes stopped near some brush but paused for only a second and looked away. It seemed as though we were all on edge just waiting for them to come out of nowhere.

"Well what are they waiting for?" I asked. He looked over at me as if I'd made him proud.

"Now that's the burning question." He said with a grin. With that he stood up.

"Where are you going?" I asked as I started to follow after him.

"To check the area, go back inside I'll be there in a while." He said with a wave of his hand.

I shrugged and walked inside but looked back just in time to see a person walking out of the brush and talk to Alec. I knew he didn't want me out there to listen in but my curiosity got the better of me. I quickly went to the window and quietly slid out.

"I thought you said they led you here as part of a trap?" The strange man asked.

"I thought so too but it looks like they have other motives." Alec said looking around.

"So you think they just led you here to get you out of the way?" The guy asked as he glanced over where I was hiding but quickly looked away almost as if he knew I was there.

"It looks like it, I have to leave here." Alec stated. I felt my heart drop. I knew Alec staying wouldn't be for long but I didn't think he'd be leaving already. The stranger once again took a glance in my direction.

"You're going to break her heart." Alec looked hurt by those words because we both knew who the guy was talking about, me.

"The stone isn't safe." Was all Alec said. The strange guy was right, my heart was broken. I quickly jumped out of my hiding spot.

Alec looked surprised to see me but the stranger didn't, I figured he really did know I was there.

"What are you doing?" Alec asked sounding mad.

"I could ask you the same thing!" I yelled back. I felt tears sting my eyes but I wouldn't let them fall.

"You're leaving me behind again!"

"I thought you understood." Alec said looking away.

"I do. I understand completely. You have a job to do, and that obviously comes before me." I said as I stormed off in anger.

I had to admit I was acting like a child, but I just couldn't help it. I was sick of people keeping things from me and after all the years he was gone I was upset that Alec would just leave me so easily.

I stopped walking after a while and just sat under a tree. Why couldn't things ever go right for me? It was getting cold and I wrapped my arms around myself for warmth, I didn't want to go back just yet. I sighed and then froze when I heard footsteps. I figured it would be Alec chasing after me but I didn't want to talk to him. To my surprise it wasn't my brother.

"I guess when they say curiosity killed the cat they weren't kidding. If you couldn't handle what they were saying you shouldn't have listened in." Brian said as he walked over and leaned against a tree facing me.

He crossed his arms and gave me that annoyed stare. I had to admit I was glad to finally see him getting back to his old self. I could tell he was still hurt by the awkward way he was leaning on the tree but by looking at the rest of him you never would've guessed he had just gotten out of the hospital.

"How do you know what happened?" I asked.

"I just happen to be walking by and overheard the conversation." He said not meeting my gaze. In other words he was spying too. I couldn't figure out how he managed to hide when he had enough trouble just walking.

"They say curiosity killed the cat." I stated and he smiled.

"Only if the cat doesn't know how to stay secretive." This time I was the one to smile.

We both just ended up laughing.

"So who was that guy?" I asked as my smile faded.

"You don't even know your own brother's best friend?" He mocked.

"Honestly I didn't even know my brother HAD a best friend." I stated. I guess there was still a lot of things I didn't know about him. Brian just shrugged.

"His name's Steven and from what I happened to hear he'll be staying when your brother leaves." He said not sounding too happy.

"So Alec is leaving his best friend here to babysit me?" I asked as I stood up.

Brian just nodded his head as he glared at the ground. The thought of someone else looking out for me seemed to bother him but I let it go. No way could that happen. I'm sure he just hated Steven like he hated my brother, and everyone else for that matter.

We walked back slowly because I didn't want Brian to overwork himself, though I'm sure he would've gotten mad if I told him that so I acted like I was enjoying looking at the trees.

"So how long will Steven be around?" I asked as I purposely stepped on a crunchy leaf just to hear the crunching sound it made.

"Until I get better I guess." He said as he watched me with amusement as I stepped on a couple more.

It probably looked like an older brother watching his little sister playing around. I quickly realized this and stopped. I didn't need him thinking of me as a sister. I sighed because of my annoying thoughts. Though thankfully Brian thought the sigh was towards Steven.

"I'm not happy about it either." He said as I looked up from the ground.

We made it back and I was thankful Alec and his friend weren't outside. When we walked inside they were both waiting for us and Alec was sending some serious glares. It was then that I finally got a real look at his friend. My eyes just about popped out of my head. He was tall and from what I could tell very well built. He had light brown hair that was shorter than my brother's but was still a little shaggy. His eyes had to be the most beautiful green I'd ever seen. He smiled at me and his smile seemed to light up the whole room. I couldn't seem to stop staring at him until he spoke.

"I'm Steven." He said as he held out his hand to me which I eagerly shook.

"I'm Kate." I said with a big smile. I saw Brian roll his eyes and Alec just looked puzzled.

"Sorry about what you overheard." He said with a frown.

"It's totally ok." I said as I got lost in his eyes.

"Kate, listen..." Alec started but didn't seem to know what to say.

"It's ok, I get it. You have to go, I shouldn't have acted like I did so I'll manage, but he's staying right?" I said as I looked back over to Steven.

"Yeah, Steven will stay with you until Brian is doing better." He said sounding really confused. I on the other hand was very happy. How had I never met this guy before today?

I got back to my room to find Pikachu sleeping right where I left him. He looked up when I walked in and I couldn't hold it in any longer. Tears started falling down my face as I collapsed onto my bed. Pikachu quickly ran over to me.

"He's leaving us again." That was all I needed to say for Pikachu to get it. He slid into my arms and stayed there while I cried it out.

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><p>"So you'll take care of her right?" Alec asked Pikachu as we walked with him to the edge of the forest.<p>

"Of course, he's managed for this long." I answered for him as I tried not to look at Alec.

"I'll be back in no time and I'll be perfectly fine." He said as he turned my head to look at him. I held back tears as he stared me down.

"Promise?" I asked.

"I promise." He said with a smile and gave me a hug. I held on as long as I could until he finally pulled away. With a sigh he walked off and disappeared into the trees.

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><p><strong>Well as quick as he came Alec is gone, don't worry he'll be back... maybe ;) Review!<strong>


	17. That's what best friends are for!

**I finally got a new computer so expect more updates! :D And here's the next chapter which is actually longer than the last ones have been!**

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><p>The next morning I woke up feeling a lot better. After getting dressed and eating breakfast I headed back to my room to wake up Pikachu. I stopped short when I ran into Steven.<p>

"Hey!" I said as my face lit up when he looked over and noticed me.

"I was looking for you." He said with a smile that made my heart flutter.

"What for?" I asked as I tried to play it cool.

"Well I figured if I had to look out for you we should at least spend some time together. You know, just to get to know each other."

"That's a great idea." I said trying to hold back my excitement. Spending time with that smile was exactly what I needed.

"Kate!" April yelled as she ran over to us. I glanced over to see her stop in her tracks when she laid eyes on Steven.

"Who's your friend?" She asked as she looked him up and down approvingly.

"April, this is Steven. He's going to be looking out for me until Brian recovers." I said as I tried not to laugh from her expression.

"Nice to meet you." Steven said being clueless.

"Yes it is." She replied sounding a lot like her sister June. She looked back at me a little surprised to remember I was there.

"Oh right, so how would you like to go on a trip?" She asked with a big smile as she leaned in close to me.

"Depends… where to?" I asked as I took a step back.

"My parent's farm, it's not to far from here and we'll only be there for a day or two. Pleeeeeeease go with me?" She said as she fluttered her eyelashes.

"Why do you want me to go so badly?" I questioned. I had a feeling there was some trick behind it.

"Well I need to go down and help with a few things and I don't want to be stuck with my family by myself." She leaned closer and stuck out her bottom lip.

"What about your sisters?"

"They're both off doing other things. So will you come with me?" She asked again with puppy dog eyes. I thought it over for a minute but couldn't really turn her down.

"All right just cut it out with the puppy eyes." I said looking away from her.

"Sweet!" She shouted and looked back at Steven.

"So are you coming too?"

"Sure if you guys don't mind me coming along." He said with a big grin.

"Us? Mind? Heck no! The more the merrier!" She said as she smiled at him. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

The next day we left for the farm. It was only going to take about an hour to walk there and we planned to enjoy every minute of walking with Steven.

"Man look at that guy. He's like a walking god!" April stated as we walked.

Steven said he knew the way to the farm and walked ahead to make sure we didn't run into any trouble. April and I didn't mind trailing behind.

"I have to agree." I said as I stared at the way his muscles moved when he walked. Pikachu who was riding on my head sent me a small shock indicating he didn't like my comment. I glared up at him and he sent me the same look. I couldn't figure out why he was so intent on me liking Brian and no one else.

"Give me a break." Caleb said behind us. I turned around to see him roll his eyes. Brian walked behind Caleb with his hands stuffed in his pockets looking either really pissed or just annoyed.

I told Brian where I was going and even though he knew Steven was coming with us he still didn't want me going anywhere without him. And after hearing where we were all going Caleb eagerly decided to come along as well.

"Don't be jealous of his good looks." April said as she turned around and glared at Caleb.

"Oh please. Why would I be jealous of a guy who looks like he should be in a sparkling vampire movie?" He countered.

"Because Kate is too busy looking at him and not you." April stated in a smug tone. Caleb looked a little surprised by the comment.

"Well that's not…" I started but didn't really know what to say.

Looking even angrier than before Brian pushed his way passed us to walk just behind Steven. With the look on his face and how close he was walking behind Steven, Brian almost looked like he was ready to choke him from behind. But he didn't, he just kept walking in silence.

"What's gotten into him?" April asked. I just shrugged.

"Whatever, we all know Steven's too old for you guys anyway." Caleb said crossing his arms across his chest.

"He is not! He's only… um how old is he?" April asked whispering the last part to me. I just shrugged. I actually hadn't really thought about his age, it wasn't like I actually planned on marrying the guy.

"He's twenty four and that makes you two jailbait." Caleb said in a matter of fact tone.

I blocked out the rest of their argument and stared up at Brian. I hadn't really thought about age difference. He had just turned eighteen a while ago but I was lagging behind at only sixteen. I couldn't help but wonder if the age mattered to him. Sure when you're older a meager two years isn't much of a difference, but in teenage years I might as well be a child to him. What did I care anyway? Brian didn't think of me in a romantic way and I certainly didn't want to think of him that way. He was a friend, nothing more. But still, part of me wanted to be just a little older.

"Earth to Kate!" April yelled in my ear causing me to jump out of my thoughts.

"What!" I shouted back.

"Please tell Caleb that age doesn't matter." She looked at me expectantly. I couldn't bring myself to agree with her since I just stressed myself out on the matter.

"Well… I…" I stuttered.

"Age is just a number." Brian said in an annoyed tone from in front of us without even turning around.

"Now will you shut up?" He added and turned around this time, but only to glare at us.

I actually felt a little relief from it. So Brian didn't care about age, or maybe he was just saying that to get them to shut up. My brain felt like it was going to explode and I sighed. Pikachu poked me with his tail which was his way of asking what was wrong. I looked up at him and smiled to let him know I was ok. He didn't look like he believed it but he let it go.

"We're here!" Steven shouted from up front. With all my thoughts I had almost forgotten he was even there.

"Thank God." Brian muttered. If he was so unhappy I didn't get why he felt he had to come along. It was then that I noticed his heavy breathing and I had forgotten he was still recovering. I felt horrible for not even thinking about his health.

We all stopped at the top of a hill and looked down at the farm. It was really big and full of Eevees, which wasn't very surprising. There were tons of berry trees to the left of the farm and a large pond on the right. In the center of the whole place was a little farm house. I couldn't really picture April growing up there.

"Well I can show you guys around the farm." April stated as she looked around at us. She apparently hadn't noticed Brian's health so I stepped in.

"I don't know, I'm a little tired from all that walking." I said trying my best to look worn out.

"Sure, we can look around later. Let's go inside and rest up a bit. I bet my parent's are going to love to meet you." April said giving me a curious look.

Brian's look was more of one of disbelief. I could tell he knew what I was doing and instead of being thankful he looked mad. To think that's what I get for caring.

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><p>"April darling!" A bulky woman cried out as we walked into the house. She had short curly blonde hair and round, rosey cheeks. She quickly ran over and hugged April. Looking embarassed April squeezed out of the hug and introduced us.<p>

"It's nice to meet you all! My name is Maggie. I had no idea April was bringing so many friends." Maggie said as she looked us over.

"I didn't even know April had friends." A man said as he walked into the room. He was tall and skinny and also had blonde hair just like April and their mother.

"This is my older brother Gale." April said as she glared at her brother.

"I didn't know you had a brother." I whispered over to Apri.

"That's because I wish I didn't." She whispered back.

"Why?" I asked.

"Trust me, you'll see."

"Is there some kind of secret you two are keeping?" Gale questioned. We both glanced up at him.

"Of course, we're best friends. We're full of secrets." April stated as she put her arm around my shoulder. I looked over at her questioningly. She really thought of me as her best friend?

I glanced over at Brian to see him leaning against the wall with his hands in his pocket obviously trying to avoid conversation. I didn't really think about who my best friend was, considering how Brian treated me and how I was still unsure of Caleb, April did seem to fit the role better.

"So are you all ready to work?" Maggie asked.

"What do you mean?" Caleb replied.

"Well April said you all came down here to help on the farm." She stated and we all looked over and glared at April.

"You never mentioned that." I barked at her.

"Oh I didn't?" She said casually. "It must've slipped my mind. Oh well, now you know." She finished with a shrug.

"I'm gonna kill her." Caleb mumbled.

"Come on guys! This is going to be a great experience!" Steven said with a grin. He sure was a positive guy. Caleb just rolled his eyes but I had to admit I was a little curious about what it'd be like to work on an Eevee farm.

"Well how about you all get settled in." Maggie chirped.

We all went to put our things in the rooms we'd be staying in. With April and I in one room and the boys in the other.

"So what do you think?" April questioned as I sat on my bed scratching behind Pikachu's ear.

"You're family seems nice." I answered.

"What? Not them! What do you think about Steven?" She stated.

"Oh. Um, he's nice." I answered. My mind was still on a different someone.

"That's it? He's nice? More like he's hot!"

"Yeah I guess he is." I muttered. _But not as hot as Brian _I thought to myself. I really needed to stop thinking that way.

"Ok which one is it?" She asked as she sat next to me.

"What do you mean?"

"You're totally crushing on someone so which one is it? Caleb or Brian?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I said as I stood up.

"You can't lie to me! It's written all over your face! You can't say 'I guess Steven is hot' unless there's someone else on your mind. Just answer the question." She demanded.

I stared at her for a while and finally answered, "Brian."

It felt weird to actually admit it out loud but the truth of the matter was I was totally in love with the guy. I just couldn't seem to figure out why.

"I so knew it! You guys would be so cute together!" She shouted.

"You can't say anything to anyone!" I panicked.

"Duh, we're friends. It's my job to keep your secrets and help you deal with your problems. But what is your problem? Why don't you tell him?"

"I could barely admit it to myself. How could I possibley tell him? Besides I doubt he feels the same way." I muttered.

"Well how would you know if you don't try? Besides everyone says that and it's hardly ever true." She responded. I looked over at her. She did have a point.

"The first step is actually admitting it to yourself, so go on and say it." She added.

"I don't know..." I muttered.

"Just do it!" She commanded.

"Ok! I like Brian! Happy?" I yelled.

"Yes I am. Now lets go tour the place!" She said as she jumped up and dragged me out the door.

Pikachu quickly followed at my heels. I had to admit, it did make me feel a little better knowing I had someone helping me with my issues. April really was a good best friend.

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><p><strong>Yay she was finally able to admit her feelings! But does Brian feel the same? Stay tuned! :P And review!<strong>


	18. Day on the farm

**Ok well I was very sad to see the lack of reviews last chapter so I'm hoping this one does a little better. And the reviews depend on updates soooo ya... Enjoy!**

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><p>We decided to get to work right away. The main job that needed to be done was picking the berries from the trees so April, Caleb and I set to work doing that while Brian and Steven set off to help care for the Eevees. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous that they got to spend time with the Pokemon but I let it go. I made sure Brian got a job with little effort needed after having a secret conversation with Maggie.<p>

"These berries smell so good!" April said with a sigh. I looked over at her and laughed.

The farm had acres of berry trees that went on for what seemed like miles. I looked passed her and could see nothing but the beautiful green trees filled with berries of every color of the rainbow. The one I happened to be picking from was a tree filled with pecha berries.

"Then eat one." I said as I went back to picking. I watched as Pikachu dropped a few into my basket and went back for more.

"I can't. If I eat one I won't be able to stop." She stated.

I laughed as I pulled a berry off the tree and bit into it.

"Wow these are good." I said in between bites. I moaned as I took another big bite and sending a grin at April.

"Oh fine I'll eat one!" She said giving in and taking a bit of one. Her whole face lit up as she swallowed it.

"I swear my parents grow the best berries in all of Kanto." I had to admit they were good but seeing as how I hadn't eaten berries from every part of Kanto I couldn't verify her statement.

"Why don't you try one Caleb?" I called over to him. He was a few trees down and for once was actually quiet for a while.

"No thanks." He said and continued his work.

"What's up with him?" I asked April. She just shrugged.

"Who knows?" She muttered and picked up her basket full of berries and started towards the house.

As soon as she was out of hearing range Caleb spoke up.

"So did you mean it?" He finally said.

"Mean what?" I asked as I dropped more berries in the basket. I couldn't figure out how April filled hers so quickly while mine was hardly half full even with Pikachu's help.

"I heard you earlier, when you said you liked Dean." He said simply. This actually caught me off guard and it took me a second to realize he was referring to Brian. Though I did yell it out loud it didn't occur to me that anyone would overhear.

"I don't know what you mean." I said as I tried my best to impassive.

"I think you know exactly what I mean. I'm not deaf." He stated.

I didn't know how to respond. It wasn't like I cared if Caleb knew but it really wasn't any of his business to question me about it.

"It's not really any of your business Caleb." I said voicing my thoughts but regretting sounding mean. Pikachu dropped some more berries into my basket and glanced my way.

"I guess it isn't but I just don't get why."

"Why what?" I questioned.

"Why you could like a guy who treats you like crap!" I glanced over at him a bit shocked by his outburst. He stared intensely back at me.

Well he had a point. Thinking back there weren't many times where Brian had been particularly nice but at the same time everything he did was because he cared. Brian was kind and devoted he just chose not to show it. Caleb just didn't know him like I did, after spending everyday of the last few months with him. But I could still feel that there was still so much I didn't know about him and it was that mystery that drew me closer to him.

"You just wouldn't understand." I finally said as I picked up my almost full basket and carried it back towards the house. Pikachu jumped out of the tree and onto my shoulder for a free ride back. He sent a glare towards Caleb as I walked away.

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><p>After setting my basket down with all the others we had gathered that day I decided I'd take a break and see how Steven and Brian were doing. As soon as I walked over to where the Pokemon were I could see it was more trouble than I thought. I watched as Steven ran by chasing a pack of Eevee that seemed to think of it as a game of chase. I looked around to find Brian looking incredibly annoyed by one Eevee in particular that was hiding in a tree. I walked over to him to see what was going on.<p>

"What are you doing?" I asked as I walked up. He looked over at me for a second but turned his attention back to the Pokemon in the tree.

"Some of the Eevee got out of the fence and I've been trying to catch this Pokemon all afternoon." He stated sounding irritated. I looked up to see the Eevee stick her tongue out at us. Brian's mouth twitched in aggravation.

He pulled out a pokeball and released Umbreon.

"Bring her down no matter what it takes." He told Umbreon who looked up at the Eevee. She glanced down at him and stared intently and her eyes lit up.

Before Umbreon could even move the Eevee was out of the tree and by his side. She nuzzled against his fur and Umbreon tried to back away but she followed after him. He looked up at us pleadingly and I let out a giggle. Brian glanced over at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't you see? She has a crush on Umbreon." I said as if it were obvious. Brian looked back down at the Pokemon and a look of recognition crossed his features.

"How annoying." He mumbled as he picked up the Eevee who cried out in response. I felt a little bothered by his comment but ignored it.

He then started walking back towards where I assumed the Pokemon were supposed to be which was a really large area that was fenced off. I noticed that it took up most of the farm. It had plenty of trees and bushed filled with berries for the Pokemon to eat and was connected to the pond for a water source. Inside were not just all the Eevee but also their evolutions. The Pokemon all seemed to stay in packs. The Vaporeon stayed by the pond while the other groups stayed in their own corners.

Before we made it to the fence the Eevee bit Brian's hand causing him to drop her in surprise. She quickly ran away but not before stopping to lick Umbreon causing him to shiver. Having someone like him must've been a strange feeling for him. Brian cursed under his breath as he watched the little Pokemon run off towards the orchard.

"I give up." He sighed. He looked drained and I couldn't blame him, that little Eevee seemed like trouble.

"I'll give it a try!" I chimed as I ran after her.

Unfortunately I failed to catch her. All I managed to get was sand in my face and a tackle to the stomach. I swore I heard the Eevee laugh as she marched away.

"Oh my god what happened to you?" April shrieked as she saw me stummble up to the house while trying to get dirt out of my hair.

"Well lets just say I got my but kicked by an Eevee." I stated as Pikachu laughed on my shoulder.

I looked over to see a smirk planted on Brian's face and I sent a glare which only made the smirk bigger.

"Oh dear, it's THAT Eevee again." Maggie said with a frown.

"She got the best of you did she?" Gale asked with a laugh. Everyone seemed to find amusement in my failure.

"Well I'd like to see one of you catch her." I said crossing my arms over my chest trying my best to look unaffected by the whole situation.

"None of you would be able to, she's impossible to catch." Gale stated.

"Well let's make a game out of it." Maggie announced.

We all stared at her with arched eyebrows.

"It'll be fun. Whoever catches her first gets to keep her."

"Wow really?" Caleb asked. I had to admit despite the fact that the Eevee was a bit misbehaved the thought of adding an Eevee to my team got me motivated to try again.

"Sounds fun." Steven said with his never fading smile.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Maggie questioned and with that everyone ran off.

Caleb and Steven ran off towards the berry trees and April walked behind them. I looked over at Brian to see he didn't really care about the challenge.

"You're not going to try?" I asked.

"Does it look like I need an Eevee?" He said as a statement more than a question as he nodded towards his Umbreon. He had a point.

"Well I plan on winning." I said with complete confidence.

"Good luck with that kid." Brian said sarcastically.

"Jerk." I mumbled. He looked over and glared, obviously hearing my comment which I intended for him to hear.

We planned to just let one person try at a time so that no one would try to steal someone else's chances. We drew sticks and Caleb got to go first followed by April and then me.

We all watched as Caleb set up a trap for the Eevee. He made a net and hid it under some leafs. He topped it off with some berries in the middle and as soon as the Eevee walked onto it he was going to pull a rope and catch her. I had to admit, it seemed like a good plan.

"Just watch, she's going to walk right into this." He stated.

Sure enough a couple minutes later the Eevee strolled right up and started eating the berries. Caleb pulled the rope and with a yelp of surprise the Eevee was trapped.

"I win!" Caleb yelled.

"Not quite." April said with a smirk. We all looked up to see the Eevee bite her way out of the net.

"But nice try." She laughed. I did say it _seemed _like a good idea.

April's plan was to just straight out battle the Eevee. It would've been a good idea if the Eevee actually wanted to battle. Instead Jolteon got sand in the face and tackled to the ground which was exactly what had happened to me. Right after the attack Eevee ran away.

"Please tell me you have an actual plan?" Brian asked as we stood off to the side to let April vent out her frustration.

"Well… I… no." I said with a sigh. Brian rolled his eyes.

"Lucky for you I have one." He stated.

"Why would _you _help _me_?" I asked.

"Because the sooner someone catches the Eevee the sooner we can be done with this stupid game. And I'd rather see you win than Steven."

"What do you have against Steven?" I questioned with a frown.

"Do you want my help or not?" He asked as he stared me down. I nodded my head.

Brian's plan was simple but so genius that I was ashamed that I hadn't thought of it. We had Umbreon stand right by a tree which we were hiding behind. A minute later Eevee ran up to him and started to nuzzle his fur. I quickly jumped from behind the tree and grabbed the Eevee. She tried to bite my hands but I was wearing gloves, which was Brian's idea.

"I can't believe I actually did it!" I shouted as the Eevee squirmed in my hands and glared up at me.

"No fair, Dean cheated for you." Caleb said with a frown.

"Quit being a baby, there was no rule saying we couldn't help each other." April said with a smile.

"Well played you two." Steven said as he grinned at us. I smiled back while Brian just shrugged.

It got dark so we all went inside and ate dinner. I felt strange to eat at a table like a family and it made me miss mine. I stared down at the new pokeball attached to my belt and smiled, at least I had my Pokemon.

After dinner everyone went to their rooms and decided to call it a night. As I headed to mine I spotted Brian staring out a window with intensity.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"Hm?" He questioned, not even bothering to take his eyes away from the window.

"Is something out there?"

"I'm not sure." He stated as he seemed to break out of his trance. It was almost like he sensed something out there. I looked out the window behind him and saw a shadow move through the trees.

"_It's probably just a Pokemon." _I thought to myself.

But deep down I had this strange feeling that it definitely wasn't just a Pokemon, and I could tell Brian felt the same way.

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><p><strong>Something big is going down next chapter so stay tuned and until then review! :D<strong>


	19. Slashing the way to victory!

**Ok well, I want to thank everyone thats been reviewing lately. All the reviews inspired me to write this chapter so here you go! :)**

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><p>I heard a <em>thump <em>in the middle of the night and reluctantly opened my eyes.

"What was that?" April whispered.

"I don't know." I replied in a hushed voice. Something about the noise didn't seem right.

"Well go find out." She said in a little louder tone.

"Me? It's your house." I countered.

"Fine we go together… and wake up the guys." She suggested.

"Good plan." I replied as I grabbed Pikachu and held him close.

We silently made our way down the hall careful to avoid any windows in which a shadow would pass every now and then. Pikachu growled and we then knew that something definitely wasn't right. I felt a chill go down my spine as I imagined some burglar attempting to break in. Just as we got to the boys room the door opened and I opened my mouth to scream when a firm hand was placed over it.

"Now would really not be a good time to do that." Brain said in an annoyed whisper.

"What's going on?" April asked with a quiet whimper.

"No clue, we heard a thump and saw shadows. There's a bunch of people outside." Caleb said quietly as he walked out of the room and surveyed the hall to make sure it was clear.

Brian removed his hand from my mouth and I unconsciously grabbed it. He looked over at me and was about to say something when Gale came silently creeping down the hall with a shaking Maggie at his heels.

"Good you're all awake." He whispered.

"Any idea what's going on out there?" Steven asked just as a loud crash came from the living room causing April and me to let out shrieks.

Steven and Brian were the first to react as soon as two men came running down the hall. The first man grabbed Maggie causing her to yelp but Steven quickly ran over and slugged the guy in the face causing him to fall to the floor but quickly get back up. The second guy set his eyes on Brian and attempted to punch him but Brian was too fast and easily stepped out of the way. He then swung his elbow back and hit the man in the back of his head causing him to fall to the ground unconscious right in front of me.

Whatever shock I was feeling was gone as I was finally able to realize the situation. I quickly ran back to my room and grabbed my Pokemon knowing I would need them. April came in behind me and grabbed hers. The window to the room shattered as a very large man jumped through it and landed on the bed I was sleeping in just minutes before. He took on step towards me but it was one too many. Pikachu zapped him with a thunderbolt and he went down. Brian ran into the room expecting to see one of us hurt but simply saw the unconscious man on the ground. He looked at us questioningly and we simply smiled.

"Time to move!" April shouted as more men moved towards the window.

We all ran out of the room and back into the hallway in time to see Steven knock out the first guy.

"What's going on here?" Maggie questioned as she shook with fear. We all eyed her sympathetically. Whatever fear I had felt before had disappeared.

"Well it's safe to say they aren't a part of Moondusk, they aren't wearing the uniform." Brian stated as he eyed the two men on the ground.

"Is now really the time to be discussing this?" Caleb asked. Brian sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Ok girls I need you to hide out in the closet for a while." Steven said as he started moving April, Maggie and I towards the hall closet.

"Whoa what? No way! I'm not going to hide in a closet while you guys are out there fighting! I want to help too!" I protested.

"Yeah, what do we look like a couple of damsels in distress to you?" April added with a glare and her arms crossed over her chest. I quickly copied her actions.

"It's not like you could keep them there if you tried." Brian said with a shrug as he looked back over to the front door.

"I guess it's no use arguing about it, we can use all the help we can get." Caleb agreed and with that we all headed outside. Well everyone except Maggie who actually chose to hide in the closet.

Once outside we found the once peaceful farm in total chaos. There were at least twenty people running around stealing the Pokemon. The evolved Pokemon were at least attempting to fight back but all the Eevee were just simply running or hiding.

"Oh I'm sorry, did we wake you?" A very tall man mocked as he walked towards us. He had jet black hair that was obviously graying which made him look older than he probably was, he also had and a big beard to match. He had a leather jacket and a red bandana tied around his left arm and looked like an old guy that wished he was in a biker gang.

"Yeah actually, I was really enjoying my nap." Steven said practically oozing sarcasm.

"That's too bad, but I'm glad you could join the fun. Though I wasn't aware this was a pajama party." He said with a grin as he stared at me.

I then realized I was in fact still wearing my pajamas which consisted simply of a yellow tank top with a Pikachu face on it and matching shorts. Brian stepped protectively in front of me while shooting daggers at the man before us. I felt slightly vulnerable and slightly irritated that no one thought to tell me to change. I noticed the guys all had time to plan an outfit. I glanced over at April and could tell the same thoughts were going through her mind as she tried her best to cover up her own tank top.

"Sorry not all of us got the memo that we were supposed to dress up, though I still think you'd win first prize. What are you supposed to be a biker's grandpa?" Brian mocked. The man's eye seemed to twitch in agitation.

"You've got a big mouth on you boy." He spat.

"Well at least I don't have a poodle on my face." Brian said with a smirk.

"Do you even know who I am?" The stranger challenged as if we were all supposed to know who he was.

"I know exactly who you are but no one really cares anyway." Brian replied with a shrug.

"Are you trying to make him kill us?" I whispered to Brian from behind.

"Why? Are you scared?" He asked with a smirk. How could he not be taking this seriously? These guys totally out numbered us and we weren't in a good position to be throwing out insults. But he did seem like he actually knew who the guy was so maybe he wasn't a big threat and that's why Brian was so relaxed.

"Well I know who you are Brian. You've got quite the bounty on your head. It would seem a lot of people want you out of the picture. And I think it's safe to say that cute little thing you have behind you it Kate Leaf. As a pair I could get a lot of money off of you two." He said in a really creepy way that sent shivers down my spine. I even saw Brian stiffen in front of me.

"I'd like to see you try." Brian said as he pulled out a pokeball as if he was daring anyone to take a step towards us.

"No need to get all worked up, I know when I'm out matched."

"Then what are you doing here?" Steven spoke up as he stepped over to where Brian and I were.

"Simple, we came to get some Pokemon. You all being here just happened to be dumb luck." The man said as he rubbed the hair on his face.

"Give our Pokemon back!" April yelled.

"I'd be willing to make a trade." He said with a wicked grin as he turned his attention back to Brian and me.

"How about a deal." Brian stated.

"What kind of deal?" The man asked looking intrigued.

"A one on one battle. Winner take all. We win, you leave the Pokemon and never come back. You win, we come willingly." Brian replied looking serious.

"You think I'm stupid enough to battle against you? That's a battle I know I can't win." The man said with a sigh.

"Not me, her." Brian said while motioning towards me. Wait, me? Was he crazy?

"Are you crazy?" Steven asked voicing my thoughts.

"You can't make a bet like that and put Kate out there." Caleb added.

"I think your lack of faith in Kate's abilities is rather insulting. I did train her after all." Brian said simply.

"I don't even know who this guy is!" I said finally speaking up.

"He's Billy Inferno." Brian said as if it were no big deal. Billy Inferno happened to be the son of Jack Inferno who happened to be the leader of a very large and dangerous gang 'The Infernos" which happened to in fact be a _very _big deal.

"Are you insane? How do we even know we can trust he'll keep his word?" I asked feeling a little lightheaded.

"He will, there's two things you can count on from Billy Inferno. One he likes making deals and two he's true to his word. They guy's a crook but he is honest." He stated as if it really was that simple.

"This isn't a joke Dean." Caleb said with a glare.

"I'm not joking. Do you all honestly think I'd let her do it if I didn't think she could win?" Brian retorted.

"I think she can do it." April stated causing everyone to stare at her and she smiled at me.

Billy cleared his throat to make sure we were all aware he was still there.

"Deal." He said simply.

Everyone looked over at me expectantly.

"You really think I can do this?" I asked Brian and he nodded his head. "Then ok." I said with a sigh.

Billy pulled out a pokeball and looked at me waiting for me to pick a Pokemon.

"What's the main type of Pokemon Inferno uses?" Brian quizzed.

"Fire type obviously." I stated.

"So which of your Pokemon would be the smartest to use?" He pressed.

I went through my Pokemon in my mind. Chikorita is a grass type so obviously not her. Pikachu is one of my strongest but he isn't fire proof and neither is Eevee. Arcanine is powerful but fire wouldn't have much effect against fire so that left only one choice.

"Sandshrew." I said and he nodded his head.

"Are we going to start sometime this week?" Billy mocked.

"Let's do it." I said as I threw out Sandshrew's pokeball at the same time Billy threw his.

Sandshrew came out with a lazy yawn which was usual for him. Billy sent out a Magmar that stared at Sandshrew with a look of determination.

"Look alive Sandshrew, we have to win this one!" I yelled out to him. He finally looked over and realized he was about to take part in a battle and quickly got into a battle stance.

"You expect to beat me with that rodent?" Billy laughed.

"We'll see who's laughing! Sandshrew use dig!" I called.

Sandshrew quickly dug underground leaving the Magmar helplessly above ground trying to figure out where and when Sandshrew was going to come up. Without warning Sandshrew jumped out to the right of Magmar and hit it directly.

"Flamethrower!" Billy called out. Magmar sent a pillar of flames at Sandshrew who waited for my command.

"Back underground!" I yelled and Sandshrew burrowed back underground barely avoiding the flames.

"Heat up the hole," Billy said to his Pokemon. I had to think about what he meant by that and I figured it out a little too late.

The Magmar blew fire straight into the hole Sandshrew made and I watched in horror as Sandshrew reappeared above ground crying from the fire. As a Pokemon of the desert of course heat didn't bother him but no one liked the feeling of burns.

"Looks like you've got a little baby." Billy laughed. Sandshrew immediately wiped away his tears and glared at him.

"You can do this Sandshrew! Try using rollout!" I shouted hoping I could keep him inspired to continue.

He nodded his head and rolled into a ball and went spinning towards the Magmar. Magmar was able to avoid Sandshrew every time he flew by but unlike Sandshrew the Magmar was starting to become exhausted. If I could tire out the Magmar then it wouldn't be too hard to beat, so all I had to do was keep Sandshrew's rollout going.

"Enough dodging and just grab it!" Billy yelled sounding angry.

The Magmar quickly stopped in it's tracks and faced the incoming Sandshrew. It stuck out it's hands and stopped Sandshrew in his tracks. It then picked him up and threw him. Sandshrew hit the ground with a loud thud as he fell out of his ball and onto his stomach. Just as he started to stand the Magmar ran over and hit his cheek with a fire punch sending him flying once again.

"Sandshrew!" I cried out as he hit a near by tree. Billy and his Magmar just laughed. I was at a loss of what to do. Sandshrew was completely tired out and even with the advantage the Magmar still over powered him.

"Come on Sandshrew! Stop being a baby!" Brian yelled from the sidelines obviously trying to get Sandshrew worked up so he could keep fighting. Sandshrew glared over at him as he slowly stood up.

"You can do it, I know you can." I said with a smile. Sandshrew stared at me as if he were making sure I meant what I said. Finally he nodded with a determined look. He then started glowing and before my eyes evolved into a Sandslash.

"You evolved!" I said as I stared at my Pokemon with wide eyes.

"Sand Sandslash!" He agreed as he looked himself over.

"Are you ready to finish this?" I asked and he nodded.

"Go get him Sandslash!" April yelled from the sidelines.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu agreed and everyone else cheered too, even Brian.

"Alright Sandslash let's see what you're made of. Cut them to pieces!" I called and with that Sandslash charged Magmar using his sharp claws. Magmar managed to dodge the first few swipes but the running around from earlier took its toll on him and he was too slow. Sandslash got in a good hit knocking the Magmar down.

"Now let's try another rollout!" I commanded knowing perfectly well that thanks to Sandslash's new spikes the Magmar had no chance of grabbing onto him again.

The plan worked as Sandslash rammed his spiked body into Magmar and knocked it out. Everyone was quiet for a minute as our minds registered what had happened. I actually won against THE Billy Inferno.

"That was amazing!" April cheered as she ran up and hugged me. I laughed as relief shot through me. Pikachu jumped on my shoulder and licked my face. Everyone else ran over to us saying their congratulations. I looked over and smiled at Brian and he smiled that rare smile back.

"Looks like no one can call you a baby anymore," I said to Sandslash.

"Sandslash!" He agreed.

"A deal's a deal." Billy stated and we all looked over at him.

"Boss you can't be serious. We're just going to leave without anything?" A guy next to him asked.

"I'm a man of my word." He replied as he nodded to Brian and started to walk away.

"But next time, I have no intentions of losing." He added and nodded to his men to return the Pokemon.

We all smiled in relief as the Pokemon were let out of the traps and came running back to us.

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><p>"Thank you all so much for everything that you've done!" Maggie said as she hugged each of us.<p>

"Don't be strangers now, I want to see you all again soon!" She added.

"Like that'll happen." April muttered under her breath. Just then Gale came running out of the house.

"Glad I didn't miss you. Here." He said as he handed a pokeball to April.

"What's this?" She asked.

"If you're going to hang around with your group of friends you're going to run into a lot of trouble. It's best you have a little more protection." He said with a shrug.

"Aw you do care." April mocked as she hugged her brother.

"Thanks." She said as she pulled away leaving Gale looking embarrassed.

"Can we go sometime this century?" Caleb asked.

"Shut up." April said as she lead the way back home.

After today I knew things were only going to get harder, good thing I have my friends and my Pokemon to get me through it.

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><p><strong>This chapter was actually pretty long so I hoped you enjoyed it. Things are only going to get more heated after this so stay tuned and review!<strong>


	20. Disappeared

**Yay the story has made it to it's 20th chapter! I feel like that's a big accomplishment! I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews because they really do mean a lot to me! And so here's the next chapter! :)**

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><p>"It's good to be back," I said to Pikachu as I collapsed onto my bed.<p>

"Pika." He agreed as he too flopped down onto the sheets.

Just as I was getting comfortable I heard a knock at my door. Slightly irritated I got up and went to open it to find Steven on the other side.

"We need to talk," He said as soon as I opened it. In all the time that I'd known him, which I know hasn't been very long, I'd never seen Steven so serious. I knew something wasn't right.

"What's wrong?" I asked. He motioned his head for me to follow him and we walk in silence to the commanding room. We walked up to Cal's desk to find him talking with Brian in hushed voices. They both looked at me with sympathetic faces when we walked up.

"What happened?" I asked knowing perfectly well that this had to be about Alec. They exchanged glances and Brian nodded at Cal indicating it was ok to tell me.

"Alec is gone." Cal explained.

"So he just went into hiding, just like he did before," I said mostly to try and reassure myself.

"No Kate, Alec is GONE." Brian stated.

I started to feel sick. This couldn't be happening. Alec couldn't be missing, he's ALEC. Nothing bad could ever happen to THE Alec Leaf.

"He tried to call me before his pokegear lost signal, but it was during the attack on the farm. I didn't even notice until this morning." Steven said with his voice full of regret.

"So he was taken by someone?" I asked.

"We think so," Cal replied.

"He must've been trying to protect the stone, so wherever he was, the stone had to have been close by. Where did his signal disappear?" Brian asked Cal.

"In the Jhoto region, near Ecruteak City," Cal stated.

Jhoto region? I thought back to what Alec had told me about his girlfriend Celia. Then it hit me, Alec didn't have the stone because Celia did. He was going to Ecruteak City to get it from her when he was caught by whoever took him. According to Alec I was the only one that even knew he had a girlfriend so of course he'd give it to her, and of course whoever took Alec would never know she even had it. It was the perfect plan.

"Then we need to go investigate, Alec had to have hidden the stone somewhere near where he was." Brian stated as he looked at a map of the area Alec was last in.

It was at that moment I received a message on my pokegear.

_I must speak with Brian Dean, you must meet me in Ecruteak City. Tell no else._

_-C_

It was Celia, Alec must have given her my number. But why does she need to talk to Brian? Unless of course she was going to give him the stone, maybe she didn't feel safe keeping it knowing Alec was gone. This was a lot of information to take in at once and I felt like my brain was overloading.

"I want to come too." I stated. Steven and Cal looked like they were going to protest.

"He's my brother." I added.

"Fine, Kate and I will go and check out where he went missing." Brian stated.

"I think I should go too." Steven said but Brian shook his head.

"Someone has to check in with HQ, you can meet up with us if we find something." Brian said and Steven reluctantly nodded.

I found it weird that Steven took orders from Brian but it made sense since Brian was probably at a higher rank. But I was relieved that it was just the two of us going, it would've been hard trying to keep Celia a secret from the others. As soon as we were alone I told Brian all about her.

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><p>"So you think she's in Ecruteak?" I asked as I packed my bag for yet another trip.<p>

"It makes the most sense, so it can't hurt to check it out." Brian said with a shrug as he leaned against my doorframe.

"So why does Steven need to check in with HQ? Can't you just call them?" I asked.

"Of course I can," Brian replied with a shrug.

"So then what's the real reason you didn't want Steven to come?" I questioned and a smirk came across his lips.

"Maybe I just wanted some alone time with you." He said as he walked across the room and stood too close to me for comfort. I felt my face go red as I forced my bag closed and pushed passed him towards the door.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny, let's just go." I muttered as he let out a chuckle behind me.

Within the hour we arrived at a Pidgeot Flying Service to get a ride straight to Ecruteak.

"You know, we wouldn't have to keep using the Pidgeot Flying Service if you could just train your Charizard to listen to you." I said smugly to get him back for his comment earlier. He looked back at me with his jaw clench in agitation and I smirked.

"Coming from the girl who can't even tame an Eevee." He mocked as he gave his own smirk and turned away leaving me to glare at the back of his head.

We got to Ecruteak and I quickly found the weather there was colder than it was in Kanto. Even with a jacket I could still feel the cold.

"It's freezing." I stated as I wrapped my arms around Pikachu who was in my jacket keeping warm.

"Well it is the middle of winter, stupid." Brian said as he started walking into town.

"I'm starting to think I should've gone with Steven," I muttered as I followed behind.

"Pika." Pikachu agreed.

We decided to split up to look for her since Ecruteak didn't have a resistance base. After asking around town for an hour I found there were at least three Celia's in town and no one seemed to know where they all lived. It seemed like I'd be better off just going house to house.

"So, if I was trying to hid from an evil organization where would I go?" I asked out loud as I scanned the buildings of the town with Pikachu.

"Pikahcu pika." Pikachu said as he pointed towards the forest.

"I doubt she's hiding in the trees Pikachu," I stated.

"Pika!" He said shaking his head and pointing again.

I looked where he was pointing and saw a small house hidden inside the forest.

"Right, I knew that," I muttered as we headed towards the house.

As we walked up I saw Brian had already made it to the house and was talking to a woman. She looked to be somewhere in her twenties but was still shorter than Brian. She had delicate features on her face and long blonde hair. Her eyes were a light blue but not as deep as blue as Brian's.

"So this must be Kate?" The girl asked in a soft angelic voice as I walked over.

"That's me," I replied with a smile. No wonder Alec was crazy about her, she was beautiful.

"Please come in," She said as she motioned for us to enter.

The inside of her small house was just that, small. The living room had a small TV and a small couch in front of it. There were two doors down a small hall that must've lead to the bedroom and bathroom.

"Sorry it's so small, hiding out isn't supposed to be luxurious." She said with a slight frown.

"So, you're hiding to protect the stone?" I asked.

"Yes, Alec said I was the only one he trusted enough to do it. And I've kept it safe for a long time." She replied.

"So why call us here now?" Brian asked.

"You must've heard? Alec was taken." She stated.

"We know, but who took him?" I asked.

"Team Moondusk, he barely had time to get a message out to me. Now they know the stone is in the area. It can't stay here anymore and I know you're the only one that can protect it now." She said directly the last part to Brian.

"Why is it so important to protect the stone? What does Moondusk plan to do with it?" I questioned.

"Damon wants to use the stone to control Pokemon." Brian answered.

"But he can already do that," I stated.

"Yes, but the effects don't last forever but with the power of the stone they will and the Pokemon will be stronger too." He said.

"Damon must not get his hands on the stone." Celia added and she pulled out a clear tube that was tied around her neck. Inside was a dark stone, so black that it was hypnotizing.

"So that's it?" I asked even though it was obvious.

Celia nodded her head and removed the stone from around her neck and handed it to Brian.

"You must never touch the stone. Don't ever let in come into direct contact with your skin," She stated.

"Why?" Brian asked as he looked away from the stone to stare at her.

"The darkness of the stone will consume you." She replied as she stared intently at the stone almost as if she'd seen it happen.

"I need some fresh air," I stated as I stood up. Pikachu followed me as I walked outside and into the forest.

I walked through the forest for a while making sure to keep track of where I was so I didn't get lost. I couldn't figure out why Damon would keep Alec if he didn't have the stone. I figured Damon would have his grunts all over the town by now, but it was still peaceful. I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't notice Pikachu was no longer walking beside me. I paused as I looked around for him.

"Pikachu?" I called out and waited. I heard no response.

"Pikachu?" I shouted louder but was once again surrounded by silence.

I turned around to see if he got lost and headed back to Celia's.

"Pika!" I heard him cry from the opposite direction.

"Pikachu!" I cried out as I ran in that direction.

He didn't respond this time so I kept running. Part of me knew this had to be a trap but the other part of me didn't care, all that mattered was Pikachu. I was running so fast I didn't notice the slope I was running by until the ground gave out underneath me. I let out a shriek as I fell down and tumbled to the bottom. I hit my head on something hard and my vision blurred and then became black.

* * *

><p>I felt something cold and wet nudging my face but I couldn't open my eyes. I could tell it had gotten colder and felt my whole body shiver.<p>

"Bree Umbreon!" The familiar voice of Brian's Umbreon called out as he nudged me once again.

I heard footsteps running towards me and then the sound of someone sliding down the incline that I fell down.

"Kate!" Brian shouted as he ran over to me.

"Come on Kate, open your eyes." He said as he shook me gently. I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes. I saw Brian looking down at me with his shining blue eyes filled with worry. Umbreon was sitting next to him with the same look.

"Pikachu," was all I could mutter.

"It's going to be ok," Brian said as he helped me sit up a little.

"They took him." I mumbled as a sharp pain shot through my head.

"I know, but we have to get you to a hospital. You're bleeding." He explained.

I reached my hand up to feel where I hit my head and brought it back down to find it covered in blood. I once again realized how cold I was as my whole body started shivering. He quickly took off his jacket and put it around me.

"Come on, let's get you out of this cold." He said as he helped me climb onto his back with my arms draped around his shoulders. With me in place he set off back towards the town. I felt my eyes becoming strangely hard to keep open.

"Don't fall asleep, you might have a concussion." Brian said as he looked back at me.

"But I'm tired." I stated.

"I know, but you can sleep after we get you looked at." He replied.

"I don't think I can stay awake that long." I said as my eyes once again tried to close.

"Tell me a story?" I asked.

"About what?" He questioned.

"Anything," I replied. He stayed silent for a moment as he thought it over.

"Ok, there once was a boy who lived in a small town. He had two loving parents and an older brother that would do anything for him." Brian started.

"What does he look like?" I asked.

"Does it matter?" Brian questioned.

"Yes," I replied and he sighed.

"Fine, he had white hair and was really fat, and he was a really big wimp. Happy?" He answered. I tried not to laugh at the fact that he was saying the opposite of himself. I just nodded for him to continue.

"There was a big war going on during this time and the boy's older brother went off to fight. After a few years the brother came back and the boy was very happy to see him. But his brother was different, he was evil. The brother kidnapped the boy and tried to make him join him, but the boy refused. The brother continued to try and persuade the boy and just when he was going to give in, he was rescued." Brian said as he shifted my weight so I could get a better grip around his neck. I could hardly believe he was telling me the story, his story.

"The man who saved the boy was strong and brave and was everything his older brother used to be. The man was a part of the war and they took the boy in. The man trained the boy himself and helped him to become strong. They were best friends for years, training together. The boy looked up to him and would've done anything for him. But as it turned out, the man was just using the boy as a trap for his brother." Brian continued. He paused for a minute as if what he was saying was causing serious emotions in his brain. I wasn't really sure who the man was but I was now certain Brian really was speaking about himself.

"So the boy ran away in anger. He eventually realized his help was needed in the war effort so he went back, but had nothing to do with the man. The boy's trust for everyone was gone, and he refused to get close to anyone but his Pokemon. That is until he saved a girl in the woods. At first he found her to be annoying, but after spending time with her he found she was anything but. He trained her and soon found she was incredibly talented. Before he knew it, he started to fall for her." He said this last part in a bit of a daze.

The hit to my head was starting to get to me as my vision once again started to blur. I knew I had to be imagining everything he was saying, because unless he met some other girl in the woods he was talking about me.

"But he never told her how he felt." Brian finished.

"Why not?" I asked as my eyes once again started to close.

"I guess he was afraid that she'd get hurt because of him." He answered.

"What a stupid boy." I stated as I let my eyes stay shut.

"What an incredibly stupid boy." He agreed and I finally gave in to sleep.

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><p>"Kate, Kate?" I heard a familiar voice call. I opened my eyes to find April staring at me.<p>

"April? Where am I?" I asked as I looked around.

"A hospital, you hit your head pretty hard." She stated.

"I did?" I asked. She gave me a confused look.

"You don't remember?" She asked and I shook my head.

"What do you remember?" She questioned.

"I remember Pikachu disappeared and I remember falling but after that, nothing. Is he ok?" I asked.

"Kate, he's gone." She said as she placed a hand over mine. I felt tears sting my eyes. The one that mattered to me the most was gone, and it was all my fault.

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><p><strong>So, I hope you enjoyed it! And I know it was messed up of me to have her forget everything that Brian told her but I felt like she wasn't ready to know :P Remember to leave a review!<strong>


	21. Princess Vs Princess

**Ok so I was watching Pokemon the other day and was inspired to write this chapter so I hope you enjoy it. Oh, and I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews :)**

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><p>The next few days all seemed to blur together. I pretty much avoided everyone by only leaving my room to eat. To say I was depressed would be putting it mildly. Everyone tried to comfort me but the only ones that could do that were in the hands of Brian's crazy brother. I felt completely alone. Brian wanted nothing to do with me, but that might have been because I blew up at him.<p>

"How could you let them take him?" I asked him.

"How did this turn out to be my fault? You don't even remember anything that happened!" He replied.

"Well if you had done something then he wouldn't be gone!" I shouted.

"Then next time I'll leave you to bleed to death in the woods. Not that you'd remember if I did anyway." He said back in anger and stormed off.

Ok so yelling and blaming him was completely uncalled for, but I was in a bad mood. I couldn't help but wonder why he was so upset that I couldn't remember the part where he brought me to the hospital. I kept trying to remember what happened between us during that time but it always came back as a blur.

I heard a knock on my door for the second time that morning but I once again ignored it.

"You can't stay in there forever Kate!" April yelled from the other side. I didn't bother responding.

"Come on Kate, open the door," Caleb tried but I ignored him too. Why couldn't they just understand I wanted to be alone?

"Don't tell me you forgot what today is!" April shouted. Actually I did forget. I didn't even know it was an important day.

"It's the Princess Festival and I'm not going to let you miss out on the one day of the year that we can boss around Caleb!" She yelled as she some how managed to open the door. I had completely forgotten about the Princess Festival. As a kid Alec used to always take me shopping and buy me all sorts of candy but after he left I stopped celebrating it.

"Go away." I mumbled into my pillow.

"Not a chance! We're going shopping right now!" She said as she pushed me out of my bed causing me to hit the floor with a thud. I glared up at her and she smiled.

"I'm not going," I stated.

"What good is sulking around going to do?" She asked as she crossed her arms.

I didn't really have an answer.

"Exactly, now let's go! I even got Steven and Cal to come! It'll be fun," She urged.

I noticed that Brian's name wasn't included and felt a little disappointed.

"So if she doesn't want to go does that mean I can leave?" Brian asked with a sigh from the doorway. I looked up surprised to see him staring at me expectantly.

"You didn't say you got him to come," I said as I looked over at April.

"I figured it was obvious, he goes with you everywhere." She stated.

I looked down at my pajamas and back at everyone else in the room.

"Ok, just let me change first." I mumbled.

"Yay! We're going to have so much fun!" April cheered while both boys just groaned.

"Ah the Princess Festival, it's the time of year where pretty girls run around the streets killing each other over clothes. It's like a guy paradise." Cal said as we walked the streets of the town.

"Quit being such a pervert." April said with a glare.

We had already been to a ton of stores and bought all sorts of clothes that we didn't need but it actually helped to take my mind off of things. The best part of it all was the fact that the guys carried all of our stuff.

"How much shopping can two girls do?" Caleb complained as we sat down to eat lunch. The best part about lunch was girls ate free, and of course Caleb complained about that too.

"Quit complaining, you're the one who agreed to come with us." April stated.

"Only to get Kate out of that room," He replied.

"I'd say that's the reason we all came," Steven agreed.

"Thanks," I muttered and received a table full of smiles, well aside from Brian.

"You know we should hurry up and eat if we want to make it to the competition on time." Cal stated.

"What competition?" April asked.

"The battle competition they hold every year for the ladies." He replied.

"Who said we wanted to take part?" She questioned.

"Well actually the reason we need to get there is because I offered up Brian to go on a date with the girl that wins." He stated.

"You did what!" Brian yelled while I choked on my drink.

"Well, my buddy Jim who plans it every year asked me if you'd be interested." Cal answered.

"So you told him yes without even asking me?" Brian asked sounding pissed.

"I really didn't think you'd mind. It's not like you have a girlfriend or anything, what's one little date?" Cal said with a shrug as he looked over at me with a strange smile. Brian looked like he was ready to kill him.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" April said as she stood up. We all looked at her questioningly.

"Do you want to be the one that kept Brian Dean from all his crazy fan girls?" She asked me with a wink. I could tell exactly what she was doing.

Everyone seemed to agree and we made our way to the area that the competition was happening at. All the girls stared at Brian and I was annoyed until I noticed he didn't even pay any attention to them.

"Well I have to take Brian to tell Jim he's here." Cal said as he led an annoyed Brian away.

"And now we have to go check in," April said as she led me to the sign up table.

"You want to win a date with Brian?" I asked with a raised eyebrow as we signed in.

"No, but I'm not going to miss out on a chance to battle," She laughed.

"And besides, I'll help you get rid of some of the competition," She added with a wink.

"If you say so, I bet Pikachu would've loved to enter," I said with a sigh.

"I bet he would also love for you to stop worrying," She replied.

We signed up and were given numbers. Mine was forty while April's was thirty-nine.

"Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to this years Princess Festival battle competition!" A woman that was wearing a very revealing dress shouted into a microphone. She was standing on the largest of many stages that I assumed were for all the battles.

"I hope all the ladies have signed up, and if you haven't yet I'd do it now because this year's prize is a date with the one and only Brian Dean!" She yelled as all the girls in the crowed cheered like crazy while April and I rolled our eyes.

"Do half these girls even know how to battle?" April questioned as we walked back over to where the guys were.

"I doubt it, which means an easy win for us." I replied and she smiled.

As we walked back a girl with blonde wavy hair bumped into me.

"Sorry," I said as I turned around to look at her. I quickly recognized her as a girl from the resistance base.

"Well if it isn't Kate Leaf," She said with a glare.

"I hope you're not planning on entering, because I'm going to win that date with Brian. I'm sure he wouldn't want to go on a date with you anyway, he's probably already tired of having you follow him everywhere." She added.

It was my turn to glare as my fists clenched at my sides.

"Well if it isn't little Smelanie Melanie," April said as she turned around to also glare at Melanie.

"I hope you're not planning on stinking up the competition." She added with a smirk.

Melanie just huffed and stormed away.

"Smelanie Melanie?" I questioned.

"I gave her that nickname years ago, I'd say I lacked originality back then." April replied with a shrug and we both laughed.

"And when someone insults you, you're supposed to insult back." She stated.

"I'm not very good at that."

"We'll work on it," She said as we finally walked back up to the guys.

"All signed up?" Steven asked and we nodded our heads.

"Don't you need two Pokemon to enter?" Caleb asked April.

"You seem to be forgetting the one I got from my brother," She replied as she held out her new pokeball.

"Oh yeah, what's in it?" I asked.

"I can't tell you that, you're the competition," She stated and I frowned.

"Will all the ladies taking part in the competition please make their way to the stages. We will now be getting started." The announcer woman yelled over her microphone.

April and I made our way to the front of the stages with all the other girls. I finally noticed just how many girls there were.

"Since there are so many girls here this year, we're going to have a knock out round. You will all be matched with someone at random. Beat your opponent in a one on one match to move on to the next round." She said with fake enthusiasm.

The numbers were then scrambled together and the matches were shown on a large screen hanging above the main stage. I was paired against number forty-five while April was paired against number twenty.

I was a little overwhelmed by all the battles going on, on the stages around me. I looked over to see my opponent was a tall red headed girl. She looked at me with such determination I almost felt bad when Chikorita knocked out her Meowth in one hit. For the rest of the battles we were allowed two Pokemon but they were all still just as easy as the first, I only had to use Chikorita. It seemed as though none of the girls were even trainers and only entered so they could win the date. Most of the girls that made it to the final eight were from the resistance. When the matches for the semi-finals came up I was surprised to find I'd be battling April. Only one of us was going on to the finals and I knew it had to be me.

"Don't think I'm going to go easy on you," She stated with a look of determination.

"Right back at you," I replied.

Like me, April had won all her previous battles with just one Pokemon which was Jolteon. I was a little anxious to see what her mystery Pokemon was.

"Chikorita, use razor leaf!" I called out starting the battle.

"Dodge it!" April responded and Jolteon easily avoided the leafs exactly as I planned.

"Now vine whip!" I commanded and Chikorita's vines hit Jolteon before he even had time to react.

"Pin missile!" April shouted. Jolteon quickly shot out the attack. Which Chikorita avoided and used a razor leaf, hitting Jolteon directly.

"Finish it off with a tackle!" I called and Chikorita knocked out Jolteon.

April smirked as she returned her now fainted Pokemon. I tensed as she pulled out the pokeball she got from her brother. From the look on her face I could tell it had to be strong. And as she threw the pokeball in the air I was afraid of what I would be up against. I was surprised when the Pokemon released from the ball was just a small Vulpix. She let out a yawn as she looked over at Chikorita and then back to April as if she wasn't sure April was seriously going to make her battle. Battling looked like the last thing she wanted to do.

"That's it?" I questioned.

"Vulpix use firespin!" April shouted catching me off guard. The attack hit Chikorita and knocked her out. I had to admit the Vulpix was strong.

"Hey I wasn't ready!" I yelled over to her.

"Well that's your fault," She said with a shrug.

With a growl I returned Chikorita to her pokeball. I then sent out Arcanine. It had been a while since I battled with him and thought he could use the exercise, that and I knew if I battled with him there was no way I'd lose. As soon as Vulpix saw Arcanaine she yelped and ran back over April refusing to fight.

"You've got to be kidding me! Get back out there and fight!" April yelled at her, but Vulpix just shook her head.

"Vulpix forfeits the battle, Kate is the winner!" The announcer stated.

I let out a cheer as April came walking over to me.

"You made me think you had a big strong Pokemon!" I stated.

"That was the point, I just wanted to psych you out," She replied with a wink.

"Why?" I questioned.

She just shrugged and laughed as she walked off the stage with me following behind her.

"We will now take an hour break for the two finalists to rest their Pokemon," The announcer screeched into the microphone.

"So who's the other finalist?" I asked April as we walked.

"You didn't notice?" April said as she motioned toward the screen that showed who the finalists were. I looked up to see none other than Smelanie Melanie.

"How did she make it to the finals?" I questioned.

"She's actually pretty good, she beat all of her opponents with just her Staryu." Caleb answered as we walked up to our group of guys.

I noticed Brian and Cal had also rejoined them. I saw Melanie walk by and smirk at me and then disappear into the crowd but not before blowing a kiss to Brian.

"If you lose, I'm going to kill you." He stated as he watched her walk away with a look of annoyance.

"Why? Do you really want to go on a date with me that badly?" I joked as I nudged him with my elbow.

"Hardly," He stated as he walked away to talk to Cal leaving me with a frown.

After an hour of sitting around I was ready to face off against Melanie.

"Ladies and Gentlemen we will now begin the final round of our competition." The announcer called out.

"The battle is between number thirteen, Melanie Cross," She paused and the crowd cheered as she made her way onto the stage.

"And number forty, Kate Leaf," After she called my name the cheers grew even louder.

"Is it just me or did the crowd seem extra cheerful when my name was called," I said.

"Of course they're happy, people want you to win the date," April replied.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because, everyone is just waiting for you and Brian to get together," She answered.

"Why would people think we're ever going to get together?" I questioned as I looked over at Brian who just rolled his eyes like this wasn't the first he'd heard of it.

"Well you do spend all your time together. It's bound to happen sometime," She said with a wink.

"They even have couple names for you," She added.

"And those would be?"

"Well some are calling you guys 'Brate' while others think 'Krian' sounds better. Personally I'm a 'Brate' fan," She said as I gave her an annoyed look.

Feeling completely embarrassed I made my way to the stage.

"Ready to lose?" Melanie called over to me.

"Hardly," I replied copying the tone Brian had used earlier.

There was no way I was going to allow myself to lose.

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><p><strong>Ok so for everyone that doesn't know what the Princess Festival is, it's the one day of the year that's all about girls. It was in the very first season of Pokemon and I named this chapter after the episode so if you want to know more about the Princess Festival you should watch it :) And don't forget to leave a review!<strong>


	22. Promises

**I'm sorry this chapter took me so long to write, I've been really busy. But here are the answers to questions I got.**

**XAlluringShadowsX- I try to update about once a week but sometimes (like recently) I get busy and can't always keep up with it.**

**NamimoriHibird- Yes Kate still has her dad, he just hasn't appeared in the story and maybe never will :P**

**I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews and questions! I would mostly like to thank Ambercatlucky2, without your support and advice I wouldn't have made it this far! :)**

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><p>I stared intently at the girl in front of me. Her Staryu didn't seem that strong and I couldn't really figure out how she made it to the finals. But since I didn't watch any of her battles I didn't really know what I was up against. Chikorita had an obvious advantage over her water type Pokemon, but my main fear was her second Pokemon. If just her Staryu got her this far who knew how strong her second Pokemon was.<p>

"Are you going to stand there like an idiot all day or are you going to send out your Pokemon?" She mocked. I glared as I released Chikorita from her pokeball.

"Go Staryu, use your water gun attack!" She called out. The attack caught me off guard as it hit Chikorita directly but didn't have much effect.

"And the battle has started!" The announcer said over her microphone causing the audience to cheer.

"Try rapid spin!" Melanie ordered but I was ready for her this time.

"Knock it away with vine whip!" I yelled and using her vines Chikorita smacked the Staryu back.

"Kate's Chikorita countered Staryu's attack with ease!" Came the announcer's annoying narration.

"Tackle," I told Chikorita and she rammed into the not expecting Staryu.

It slowly stood back up as the jewel on it's body started to flash indicating it took some serious damage.

"Recover," Melanie told it and with a flash the Pokemon was as good as new.

"No fair," I muttered as she looked at me with a smug expression on her face.

"Use razor leaf!" I shouted and Chikorita once again sent leafs toward Staryu.

"Counter with swift." Melanie responded. Staryu used swift and knocked back Chikorita's leafs and hit her straight on. Chikorita stood her ground but looked a little beat up.

"Synthesis," I called and she easily restored her health.

"Hey that's cheating!" Melanie screamed over to me.

"Like it's any different then what you did!" I retorted.

"Staryu use another swift!" She yelled but this time Chikorita dodged it and knocked out the Staryu with a vine whip followed by a razor leaf.

"Staryu is unable to continue, the first round goes to Kate!" The announcer cheered.

Melanie looked incredibly pissed and all I could do was try not to laugh at the fact that the crowd was cheering at her loss.

"We'll see who's laughing when I win this battle!" She screeched as she sent out her second Pokemon.

A Persian came from the ball with a purr. The elegance of her Pokemon definitely didn't match her.

"Cut that little pest to pieces!" She commanded the large cat.

The Persian immediately went after Chikorita with it's claws. She was hardly able to avoid the attacks and Persian eventually took her out.

"Chikorita is unable to battle the round goes to Melanie."

I glared as Melanie waved triumphantly to the crowd. As soon as I released Arcanine from his pokeball her attention was once again back on me.

"Use your pay day!" She yelled to her Pokemon.

Coins were thrown all over the stage and people cheered as they flew into the audience. Though the attack managed to hit Arcanine it didn't affect him much.

"My turn," I said with a grin. "Arcanine show them your speed with extreme speed!"

In a blur Arcanine ran across the stage and rammed into the Persian.

"Furry swipes!" Melanie countered.

Persian started swiping it's claws at Arcanine and when Persian finally got it's claws on him Acranine bit into it with a fire fang. The two Pokemon ended up rolling around the stage trying to inflict as much damage to each other as possible. I wasn't really sure what to do with the situation and just stood there while the Pokemon wrestled each other in a grudge match.

"Tear it apart Persian!" Melanie screech.

"That's it," I muttered. "Burn it to a crisp Arcanine. Fire spin!" I called.

Arcanine threw Persian off of him and created a large tornado of fire which he then launched at the cat Pokemon. With a loud cry Persian fell to the ground unconscious.

Melanie screamed in frustration and it took me a minute to realize I actually won.

"The winner of this year's annual Princess Festival Battle Competition is number forty, Kate Leaf!" The announcer shouted into her microphone receiving a loud cheer from the crowd.

"That was amazing!" April yelled over the roar of the crowd as she ran up to me.

"I knew you'd kick her butt. Nice battle," Caleb added.

"It was a good fight," Steven agreed.

"A good fight? She was incredible! I knew having Brian train her was a good idea!"Calsaid with a proud smile.

"Not bad kid," was all Brian muttered.

As happy as I was that I beat Smelanie Melanie I realized that meant I had to go on a date with Brian. I stole a glance at him as he talked to Cal and noticed he actually looked happy. I wasn't sure if it was because I didn't suck or if he was actually happy about the date.

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><p>"I don't see what the big deal is," I said to April as her sisters did my hair and make up for my 'date' with Brian.<p>

"How can you not? You're going on a date with _th_e Brian Dean. You have to look amazing to woo him." She replied as she looked up from the magazine she was reading on my bed.

"Woo him?" I questioned.

"You know make him fall madly in love with you."

"I think he already is," stated May.

"I highly doubt that," I said.

"No really, I see the way he looks at you."

"Really?" I asked.

"Of course, you're pretty. Why wouldn't he like you?" She reassured.

"Ok we get it, Kate and Brian are going to live happily ever after. Go team Brate." June said in annoyance as she practically pulled my hair out.

"Jealous much?" April stated.

"Not at all, who'd want to date and emotionless person like him anyway." June replied.

"You mean besides you and every other girl in the world?" April mocked and received a glare from her sister.

"Ok we're done." May said as she pushed me over to a mirror so I could see the final result and I was pretty surprised.

My hair which was usually a mess was neatly curled and hung loosely around my shoulders falling just below my breasts. The make up which I usually never wore, wasn't too heavy but brought out my rosy cheeks and my big brown eyes. My outfit was a simple skirt and a dark pink shirt to go with it that wasn't too revealing but it was also perfect for a date. I had to admit I didn't look half bad.

"Do you think he'll like it?" I asked.

"If he doesn't, he's blind." June replied with a smile.

"Thanks," I said and she replied with a hug.

"Have fun," She said over my shoulder.

As I walked up to where I was meeting Brian I saw him leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He was wearing a black dress shirt but that was about as far as he went for looking his best, but he didn't really have to try hard to look good. I was impressed he even dressed up at all. As soon as he saw me walk up his eyes actually widened a bit, but he quickly covered it up with his usual expressionless face.

"Did I try too hard?" I asked with a frown.

"N-not at all," He stuttered as he tried to look anywhere but at me.

I let out a sigh of relief.

"Let's just go," He muttered as he grabbed my hand and dragged me after him.

I stared at my hand in his and felt a surge of butterflies flutter through my stomach.

_"Calm down Kate." _I told myself. _"He's just holding your hand. Quit acting like a child."_

"Why do you look so intense?" He asked as he looked over at me.

"No reason," I replied with a gulp.

I couldn't figure out why I was so nervous. I was with Brian 24/7 and I never freaked out around him. Was it just the fact that this was a date that made me freak out? By the time we got to the restaurant I felt like I was going to pass out.

"You don't have to be so nervous." He stated when we sat down.

"I'm not!" I lied.

He gave me a knowing look and I sighed.

"It's not like I'm going to do anything to you. Just think of it as us hanging out like we usually do." He said.

"Right, just hanging out," I muttered.

We didn't really talk much after we got our food and ate in silence.

"You did well in your battle earlier." He finally said breaking the silence.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Well it was a little sloppy but you still won." He replied.

"Well we can't all be top resistance members." I retorted.

"I guess that's true, maybe someday you'll actually hit one of my Pokemon in a battle." He said with a smirk.

"Is that a challenge?" I asked with a confident smile.

"Why would I challenge you to something you'd never be able to do?" He mocked.

Even though he was being a jerk I saw what he was doing and my nervousness went away. There was just something about him that put me at ease whenever we talked or even argued. I couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" He questioned.

"Thank you." I replied.

"For?"

"For just everything."

He stared at me for a minute before he got up and held out his hand.

"Let's go for a walk." he stated. I stared at his hand for a moment before I took it with a smile. All the worry from earlier was completely forgotten.

We strolled around town for a while and eventually stopped by the small river that was outside of town. Brian picked up a rock and skipped it across the water. I tried to do the same but the rock simply splashed and sank to the bottom.

"It's all in the wrist." He said as he showed me how to do it by motioning how his wrist moves when he throws it.

I tried again and it skipped once before it sank to the bottom of the river. I laughed as he smiled that rare smile.

"Promise me something," I said.

"What?" He questioned as he skipped another rock.

"Promise me that you'll never leave me alone." I said as I looked over at him. He paused and stared at me.

"I've already lost the two most important loved ones in my life. I don't want to lose you too." I explained.

"Promise you'll always be here for me." I said as I held out my pinky. He stared at me for a minute as if deciding how to reply.

"Always." He stated as he hooked his own pinky around mine.

I wanted to freeze that moment with just the two of us forever, but life doesn't work that way. The moment ended and we headed back to the base hand in hand.

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><p><strong>Glad I was finally able to finish this chapter! What did you think? Leave a review! :D<strong>


	23. Taken and reunited!

**I actually got this one done a lot quicker than the last one. I'm glad I haven't been as busy lately, I've missed writing!**

**Lydia****. Kyoya- I'm actually not really sure how long the story is going to be. I have it all outlined and I'd say the story is somewhere around halfway done maybe more or maybe less, it all depends on how the story plays out as I go along :)**

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><p><em>I felt a strange sense of Déjà vu as I ran down the pathway that led to the river that Brian and I were at on our date. What was I running from? I wasn't sure considering I couldn't even remember how I had gotten there in the first place. All I knew was that I had to get away. I saw a shadow fly over my head and looked up to see it was Damon flying on his Flygon. I tried to scream but no sound came out. I tried to say something but my body wouldn't do anything but run. I felt as though I was only able to watch what was happening through my own eyes. I finally saw Brian standing by the river and felt myself run faster. I just had to make it to Brian before Damon could grab me. I shouted his name and he looked over as if he was confused I was there but as soon as he saw Damon he started running toward me. I felt hands grab me as I was pulled off of the ground. I screamed once again and it actually made a sound that jolted me awake.<em>

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><p>I woke up covered in sweat gasping for breath. It was another one of those strange nightmares. The last time I had one like that it was about Brian, before I had even met him. Did that mean the same thing was going to happen? Was Damon going to come after me? As I was trying to figure out where the dreams were coming from April let herself into my room.<p>

"Wow, you look like crap." She stated as she made herself comfortable on the chair in the corner of the room.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"No offense of course," She said lazily as she gazed around my room.

"Is there any reason in particular you're sitting in my room this early in the morning?" I asked.

"Not really," She replied with a shrug. "Let's go do something."

"Like?" I asked sounding irritated.

"We could do a job?"

"A job?

"You've been in the resistance for this long and you don't even know about jobs?" She asked with a dramatic gasp.

"Well feel free to enlighten me at anytime." I said rolling my eyes with a laugh.

"Well The Resistance makes it's money by sending the members on little odd jobs for people around the regions. They're pretty much the same thing as missions but usually have nothing to do with Moondusk, and The Resistance gets paid for our work."

"I thought The Resistance was around to stop Team Moondusk." I thought out loud.

"Well it is, but money doesn't grow on trees. Where did you think the money for all the food we get comes from?"

"Um, very generous people?"

"Nope, all you have to do is ask Cal and he'll hook you up. It gives us something to do when Moondusk is on the down low. Best part is you can go with whoever is available, and look at that we're both available." She stated with fake amazement.

"I can't, I have to talk to Brian about something." I said as my mind wandered back to the dream I had.

"Planning your next date already?" She mocked.

"No I'm not, I need to talk to him about training my Pokemon more." I lied. She rolled her eyes, easily catching my lie.

"Whatever you say," She muttered as she stood up. "Just let me know when you guys are done _talking._"

"Will do," I stated as she left.

I sighed as I got dressed and went out to search for Brian. I thought back to my first 'mission' and realized it was more of a job than a resistance mission and the same applied to helping out on the Eevee farm. I figured a job would be fun and made a mental note to do one with April after I talked with Brian. I skipped breakfast and went straight out to look for Brian but was stopped on my way out the door.

"How was your date?" Caleb asked as I walked out. It almost seemed like he was standing outside waiting for me to leave.

"It was nice," was all I replied.

"Oh, really?" He asked sounding a little disappointed.

"But we didn't really do anything special, we really just talked and got to know each other better." I reassured him.

"You shouldn't let yourself get close to him." He said after a moment of silence.

"And why's that?" I asked with skepticism.

"It's not safe." He said as he got close to me.

I felt a strange heat rise to my face from his closeness and inwardly yelled at myself. I was supposed to be crazy for Brian, so why did I feel strange every time Caleb was around?

"And why isn't it?" I questioned, ignoring my thoughts.

"It's dangerous to be around him. There are a lot of people after him, just like your brother. They could easily use you to get to him. Do you really want to be a burden to him too?" He asked with a harsh tone in his voice.

I felt a little stung by his words. Was I really just a burden to everyone? I had been training so hard to be able to protect myself but was I really getting anywhere? Brian still didn't trust me to really go anywhere by myself. Was it because he thinks I'm weak? Caleb seemed to notice what he said bothered me as I backed away.

"Kate, I didn't mean-" He started.

"No, it's ok. I have to go." I cut him off as I headed in a random direction.

I didn't want to be near anyone and just wandered around for a couple of hours. I felt miserable just like I did when I lost Alec and Pikachu. The whole world seemed dark and I just wanted to escape from it all. I stopped and sat under a tree and stared at the sky. I saw the shadow of a large Pokemon fly over head and stood up to watch it disappear behind a cloud. I finally decided to head back to the base when my stomach started growling but paused when I heard a familiar sound.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out from somewhere to the left of me. I ignored every part of me that told me it was a trap of some kind. Why else would I be randomly hearing Pikachu's cry out in the middle of no where?

"Pikachu!" I cried out and waited for him to reply.

"Pika Pi!" He replied. I started running in the direction the sound was coming from and I saw him.

He looked the same as the day he was taken from me. His yellow fur was a little dirty but other then that he was still my same Pikachu. He was ran to me and when he got close enough jumped into my arms. I spun him around and held him close as he buried his face into my shirt. I was so overwhelmed I fell to my knees with Pikachu held close against me. Tears fell down my face as I told him how much I missed him and he replied with the same reaction. At that moment I didn't care about my date with Brian or what Caleb had said to me just before. None of it mattered, the only thing that mattered was that I once again had my best friend.

I was so caught up in the moment I didn't see the Moondusk grunt until he had me by the hair. I let out a yelp as he pulled me up and caused me to drop Pikachu.

"That was too easy," He said with a wicked laugh.

Pikachu tried to shock him but another grunt managed to grab him and throw him into a cage. The grunt carried him off as I struggled against my captor.

"Let me go!" I screeched as I tried to get out of his grasp.

He laughed as I struggled against him. There was no way I was going to lose Pikachu after I just found him again. I quickly turned myself to face the man and kicked him right in between the legs. He let out a girly yelp and released me as he fell to the floor. Not wasting time I ran off into the direction that I had seen the grunt take Pikachu. I ran with such determination that it took me a minute to register where I was running. I was on the path that led to the river, just like in my dream. It was coming true. My suspicions were made true as soon as I saw the shadow.

I looked up to see Damon on his Flygon heading straight towards me. I didn't try to let out a scream like in my dream because I wasn't surprised to see him. I ran faster hoping that I could get away. I didn't know how my dream was supposed to end so I hoped that if I could reach Brian then he'd be able to save me. As soon as I saw him I shouted his name. He looked over at me confused at first and then he saw his brother. He broke off into a run toward me but it was too late. I screamed in frustration and fear as Damon lifted me off the ground.

"Put me down!" I screamed at him as I was thrown over his lap on the Pokemon. All my struggling did was make him laugh.

"Scizor metal claw!" I heard Brian shout. I managed to look down and see Brian had released Scizor and he jump up after Flygon with his claw glowing.

"Sand tomb," Damon ordered and Scizor was engulfed in sand and fell back toward the ground. As he hit the ground sand flew up all around where he landed and I was no longer able to see Brian through all the dust as we flew away.

"Let me go you crazy weirdo!" I yelled as I started hitting his leg. I would have aimed for his face but the position I was in didn't really make it possible.

"Most girls in your situation would be crying right about now, not punching me." He stated.

"Yeah, well I'm not most girls." I replied with a huff.

"No, you aren't." He agreed.

By the time we landed, at what I assumed was the main base for Team Moondusk, I felt sick from being so high up in the air. I still wasn't over my fear of heights.

As soon as I jumped off of the Pokemon I pulled out a pokeball ready to defend myself.

"There's no need for that," Damon said with a chuckle. "I'm not going to hurt you."

He then started walking toward the door as if expecting me to follow him. I was about to turn the other way and run when he spoke up.

"I'm sure you'd love to see your brother." I paused as I realized what he said. My jaw clenched as I tried to control my anger.

"Where is he?" I shouted at him. He didn't even bother to pause as he turned around and looked at me with a wicked smile.

I reluctantly followed him inside the large doors and found it seemed almost normal inside. There was a front desk at which a small woman with short black hair sat typing away at a computer. To the left was a flight of stairs and to the right was an elevator. It looked just like a normal office building but everything in the room was white and really plain.

"Are you hungry?" Damon asked as I followed him to the elevator.

"Not really," I stated as we passed the woman at the desk.

"Good morning sir." She said as she looked at Damon and then at me. I noticed her expression had a hint of fear and I made a mental note not to upset Damon in anyway.

"Where are we going?" I asked as we stood inside the elevator and Damon pressed a button.

"To see your brother of course," He replied as if it was obvious.

We took the elevator up and stopped on the top floor. I followed Damon down the hall, which was full of grunts trying to look impressive as we walked by. We reached the end of the hall and Damon stopped in front of the last door. He then pulled out a key and unlocked it.

The room was small and consisted of a bed and a small bathroom was connected to it. I didn't pay much attention to the things in the room because my attention was set on the certain someone inside. Sitting on the bed was Alec, who looked pretty well for someone was being held prisoner. His face seemed a little pale but other than that it seemed as though he had just been on vacation the entire time he was gone. I wondered why Damon would take such good care of the biggest threat to his plans.

"Alec," I said as I ran into the room.

Alec turned around just as I threw myself into his arms. He seemed confused for a minute before he realized that it was me and wrapped his arms around me in a comforting hug.

"Why are you here?" He asked as I looked up at him.

"Just thought I'd reunite the family," Damon said before I could reply.

We both looked up to glare at him as he kept that stupid smile on his face.

"I'm just trying to make my best friend happy," He said as his smile turned into something I couldn't describe. The expression on his face was one of such sadness, it gave me the chills.

"Best friend?" I questioned as I looked up at Alec who never took his eyes off of Damon.

"That was a long time ago," He stated.

"I'd love to hear that story," I muttered.

"No, you wouldn't." Alec responded.

"Tell the story, she has a right to know. This involves her now." Damon said as his smile returned.

Alec stayed silent as he continued his glare like he wasn't sure if Damon was being serious.

"Tell the story Alec, and start from the beginning." He warned as he looked over at me. I glared at him showing him I wasn't afraid.

"Fine," Alec said in such an angry voice I cringed. Despite the tension in the room I was curious as to why Damon wanted Alec to tell about their friendship. Was there something that happened that I needed to know?

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><p><strong>The next chapters are going to be in Alec's point of view! I don't plan on telling his entire story because that would be another story in its self, but I do plan on giving some details about the past and how some people got to where they are now! I hope you look forward to it, and leave a review! :D<strong>


	24. Past revealed part 1

**I'd like to start off by saying the story has reached 100 REVIEWS! :D Thank you everyone that has reviewed, they make me happy. Well this chapter took a little longer than planned since I had to write a paper for english, but since I finished it I was able to get this done! I had a question about Alec and Damon's ages so I figured I'll just list everyone's age so no one is confused.**

**Alec, Damon, Steven, Celia-24**

**Kate, Caleb, April (and her sisters)-16**

**Brian-18**

**Cal, Sierra-28**

**I'm pretty sure I got everyone important. Anyway here's the chapter :)**

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><p><strong><em>Alec's POV (8 years ago)<em>**

"Please don't leave," Kate cried as she held onto my arm with tears running down her face.

She was too young to understand my reason for going but that didn't make me feel any better about leaving her.

"I have to kiddo," I said as I pulled her hand off of my sleeve, which only caused her to cry more.

I looked up to my parents for help but they just shrugged. Pikachu jumped from my shoulder and into Kate's arms. She wrapped her little arms around him and her tears turned into soft whimpers. I knew how much Pikachu meant to her so I made a hard decision.

"How about Pikachu stays here with you," I suggested.

They both looked at me as I knelt down to be eye level with my sister.

"You'll take care of her for me right?" I asked Pikachu as I scratched behind his ear.

"Pika," He nodded.

"But Pikachu is your Pokemon!" Kate exclaimed.

"Not anymore, I think you'll do a much better job of training him," I said as I stood up.

Kate looked like she wanted to protest but stopped when Pikachu licked her face causing her to giggle. She then ran into the house and a minute later came back with a small picture.

"Here," She said as she handed it to me.

It was a picture of her, Pikachu and I that our mom took a while ago. I was carrying Kate on my back because she fell and scrapped her knee and Pikachu was trying to get her to stop crying. I let out a small laugh from the memory.

"So you won't forget us," She said.

"Thanks," I said as I wrapped her in a hug.

Then with a sigh I ruffled her hair and started toward town.

"You better write me!" She yelled after me.

I looked back and waved with a smile as a reply. I didn't really know if I'd be able to write, I wasn't sure what really went on in the resistance but I knew I had to be a part of it. I was willing to do anything to stop Team Moondusk so that my sister wouldn't have to live in fear anymore.

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><p>I made it to town and got a boat ride to the Jhoto region since Team Moondusk hadn't made its way to Kanto there were no bases there. As soon as the boat docked in the Jhoto region I was feeling unsure of myself. I didn't even know where to go, I was in an unknown region and I didn't have any plan. I was so busy thinking that I didn't notice the guy running towards me until he smacked into me and sent us both falling to the ground.<p>

"Ow," I mumbled.

"Sorry about that," The guy said as he stood up and held his hand out to me.

"It's ok," I said as I took his hand and pulled myself up. He flicked his black hair out of his face and I noticed his eyes were a strange blue.

"There he is!" I heard a man yell and I looked over to see three of Team Moondusk's grunts running toward us.

"And now it's time to run," The stranger said as he grabbed my shirt and pulled me behind him.

"Why are they chasing you?" I asked as we ran.

"It's a long story," The guy muttered as we turned a corner.

"So why are you dragging me along?" I questioned.

"Well since they saw me standing there with you they probably think we know each other. Besides, running by yourself isn't as fun as running with someone else," He replied as he looked back at me with a grin.

I noticed this guy was a little too carefree. We turned another corner and arrived at a dead end.

"Guess I took a wrong turn," He muttered.

"Are you serious?" I asked in disbelief as I tried to catch my breath.

"Oh well, I was hoping to avoid conflict," He said as he pulled out a pokeball.

"What?" I asked with wide eyes.

"You have a Pokemon?" He asked as he looked me over and I nodded my head.

"Now would be a good time to let it out," He said as he motioned to the grunts that had cornered us.

I instinctively looked down for Pikachu and realized he wasn't with me anymore. I quickly pulled out my Charmeleon's pokeball since he was the only other Pokemon I had.

"You're coming with us," The grunt in front said as he walked toward us.

"In your dreams," The stranger beside me said as he sent out a Quilava.

The grunts then sent out their own Pokemon which consisted of a couple of Poochyena. The black haired guy looked over at me expectantly and so I released my Pokemon.

"Hey we almost have a matching team," He stated with a grin and I rolled my eyes.

"Is that really important at the moment?" I questioned.

"You're right, Quilava flamethrower!" He shouted.

The attack managed to knock out one of the Poochyena but the other two dodged it. I took advantage of the moment and had Charmeleon use his own flamethrower that knocked out the other two. The grunts looked mad as the returned their Pokemon and each sent out a Machoke.

"Now it gets interesting," The stranger next to me said with a smirk.

"You're happy they have stronger Pokemon?" I asked with disbelief.

"Of course, battling is no fun if it's an easy win," He replied simply.

"Sure why didn't I think of that?" I said sarcastically.

"You take the one on the right, I've got the two on the left," He said as he pulled out a second pokeball.

I wasn't going to argue with him as I moved my attention to the Machoke on the right. The guy threw his other pokeball into the air and out came an Umbreon. I couldn't help but notice his poor choice since fighting type Pokemon were super effective against dark types. I figured he knew what he was doing and ignored him to focus on my own Pokemon.

"Use cross chop!" The grunt called.

"Dodge it, and use metal claw," I ordered and Charmeleon swiftly avoided the attack and slashed the Machoke's face with his claw.

This made the Machoke angry as it bounced back from the attack looking extremely pissed. Without taking an order from its trainer the Machoke started swinging its fists at Charmeleon. When it finally made contact, the hit sent Charmeleon flying passed me and into the wall behind me.

"Come on Charmeleon get up," I urged and he managed to get to his feet.

"Now show them your fire power!" I yelled and he sent a powerful flamethrower at the Machoke and knocked it out.

I looked over to see the black haired guy had managed to knock out the other two Machoke. Noticing they were out matched the grunts ran away. I let out a sigh of relief as the guy walked over to me.

"You're not bad, have you ever thought of joining the resistance?" He asked.

"You're with the resistance?" I questioned and he nodded.

"Damon," He said as he held his hand out to me.

"Alec," I replied as I shook his hand.

"Well Alec, I'd say this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." He said with a grin.

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><p>Damon led me back to the resistance base and I had to admit it was everything I had hoped it would be. As we walked in Damon went over to talk to a guy that looked to be a little older than us. He was really tall and had brown hair that was cut short.<p>

"We were supposed to meet up in front of the market," The guy stated sounding annoyed.

"Yeah sorry about that, I got a little side tracked," Damon replied with a shrug.

"How did I get stuck babysitting you?" The guy muttered to himself.

He then looked up and realized I was standing there.

"Who's he?" He questioned.

"Cal, this is Alec, he helped me get out of trouble," Damon answered.

"Well he sounds like a helpful kid,"Ca lstated. "You planning on joining?" He asked me.

I was too nervous to reply so I just nodded which made Damon laugh.

"He may be shy but he can battle," Damon said as he nudged me with his elbow.

"Well then how about we talk to the old commander and get him settled?"Cal stated and we both nodded.

After meeting the base leader, who was a very creepy looking old man, I was given a room and my own pokegear. It turned out Damon was slightly new to the resistance and was training under Cal. Damon begged Cal to train me too and eventually he agreed.

"So how do you like it here so far?" Damon asked after a few weeks.

We were supposed to be training but we decided to take a break.

"It's ok I guess," I replied.

"Just ok? Are you kidding? Coming here was a dream come true for me," He stated.

"I guess I'm just a little homesick," I muttered.

"Hey, I know how it feels. You have any siblings?" He asked.

"A little sister," I said as I remembered the picture she had given me. I kept it in my pocket and pulled it out to show him.

He let out a laugh as he looked it over.

"She seems like a lot of trouble."

"She definitely is. Do you have a sister?"

"Nah, I have a little brother though."

"Is he as high strung as you?" I joked.

"Please, it's hard enough just getting the kid to talk." He laughed.

"Well if he ever met my sister I bet he'd open up. She has a way with people," I said with a smile.

"Maybe someday they'll meet and fall in love."

"Like that would ever happen, besides I wouldn't want to be related to you," I said as he punched me in the arm.

We both ended up laughing until Cal walked up and made us run laps for goofing off. Even though I hadn't known him for very long, Damon was one of the best friends I'd ever had.

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><p><strong>I'm glad I finally managed to get this chapter done! I really love Damon (before he became evil) what do you think of his past self? Well leave a review :)<strong>


	25. Past revealed part 2

**I was hoping to have this chapter done a while ago since I was on break but I just couldn't seem to get it right. I had to rewrite it three times before I finally settled with this. Since it took me so long to update I made this chapter longer than usual :) Anyway, enjoy.**

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><p><strong><em>Alec's Pov (6 years ago)<em>**

I had come a long way since I joined the resistance two years ago. Thanks to Cal's amazing training, Damon and I eventually became top members which meant we didn't report to our base leader anymore, we only took orders from the leaders themselves and of course Cal who still thought he was our boss. As a team the three of us were hard to beat. Team Moondusk had moved it's way into the Kanto region and I often found myself taking missions there as an excuse to check up on Kate. Though I never went to visit my family because I feared for their safety, I kept an eye on them whenever I could.

"We're wanted at the main base boys,"Cal said one day as Damon and I were out training.

"Sweet!" Damon cheered as he returned his Flygon.

"Hey, I was about to win," I complained as I too returned my Pokemon.

"Are you kidding? I totally had you," Damon replied.

"That's not what it looked like to me," I retorted.

"You want to go again?" He challenged as we glared at each other.

"Why, so I can embarrass you some more?" I mocked.

"Break it up you morons, we have more important things to do," Cal stated as he grabbed us by the collar of our shirts and dragged us behind him.

It wasn't very often that we got a mission from the leaders. Usually we just did whatever we felt needed to be done. If the leaders wanted to talk to us then it meant there was trouble.

Cal gave us ten minutes to pack our bags and after throwing a few things into mine I ran off to spend the rest of my time with a certain someone. I met up with Celia in the forest just outside of the base. No one knew that we were a couple since I was afraid for her safety but she was ok with keeping it a secret. I saw her standing with her back to me as her long blonde hair fell in waves down her back. I couldn't help but sigh, every time I saw her she took my breath away.

"So you're leaving again?" She asked as I came up behind her and wrapped her in my arms.

"Yes," Was all I replied.

"Will it be dangerous?" She questioned as she turned herself around to face me. Her pale blue eyes were filled with sadness.

"Probably," I joked hoping to lighten the mood.

"It's not funny Alec. Every time they send you off on one of those missions either you or one of your friends come back hurt," She stated with a frown.

"In all fairness, last time I DID tell Damon not to mess with that Rhyhorn, they can be very hostile." She rolled her eyes at me and I shut my mouth.

"I can't keep worrying whether or not you're going to come home every time you leave. One of these days you might not come back." She said as she laid her head on my chest.

I kissed the top of her head as I thought for a minute. She had a point, being a top member meant a lot of responsibility. It was dangerous and my whole life revolved around it. The more I thought about it the more I realized just how much I hated being a top member. Things were so much easier when I was just another regular member.

"Then what if I quit?" I finally said.

"What do you mean?"

"As in I quit being a top member," I stated.

"But they need you," She replied.

"Hey, they have Damon and Cal, those two alone are a force to be reckoned with."

"You'd do that for me?" She asked as she looked up at me.

"I'd do anything for you," I answered as I closed the distance between us and brought her lips to mine.

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><p>After saying a final goodbye to Celia I returned to the base to find Damon and Cal were waiting for me a lecture on the importance of being on time causing Damon to snicker and then we finally left.<p>

"So what do you think this big mission is?" Damon asked in a whisper as we followed behind Cal.

"Well considering Cal is being so anal about it I'm guessing it must be something important," I replied.

"I heard that,"Cal stated.

"Why can't you just tell us?" Damon asked him.

"Because you never know who could over hear," He answered which was really just him saying he didn't feel like telling us.

Damon let out an exaggerated sigh and decided to sing annoying songs the rest of the walk. By the time we made it to the base I had '99 bottles of potion on the wall' stuck in my head.

We were lead into a large room that was used for meeting with the leaders, or the elders as I liked to call them. They were all seated in large chairs at the front of the room while Cal, Damon and I stood before them.

"Boys, it's been such a long time," One of the elders said. I never really bothered learning their names because they were all so old they could've died at any given moment, so instead I had them numbered from one to six. I never could figure out why the leaders of such an important organization were a bunch of ancient people, I guess everyone thought that since they were so old it meant they were wise. I for one did not agree with that assumption.

"Like you can blame us for avoiding heavens waiting room," Damon joked next to me and I let out a small laugh which received a glare fromCal.

"Well you know us, busy trying to keep the world a safe place,"Cal said with an enthusiastic smile.

"Key word, trying," I muttered and was instantly shushed by Cal.

"I'm assuming you young gentlemen would like to get straight to the point?" Leader One asked.

We all nodded our heads and I was surprised Damon didn't have a sarcastic remark.

"Have you ever heard of The Stone of Shadows?" Leader Three asked.

"That's the stone that's said to control Darkria, right?" I questioned.

"Indeed, the myth of the stone has been passed down for many generations," Leader Two stated.

"I bet it started in their generation," Damon whispered and Cal elbowed him in the ribs as a warning.

"Our inside sources tell us that Team Moondusk has found the location of the stone and intends to use it to resurrect Darkrai." Leader Two continued.

"So they want to try and control Darkrai for what exactly?" Damon asked.

"Well it might have something to do with the fact that they want to take over the world," I replied sarcastically.

"I didn't need the sarcastic remark," Damon said with a glare.

"Well you didn't need to ask a stupid question either, and yet it happened," I stated and before it could turn into a fight Cal stepped in between us.

"The mission?" He asked.

"Your mission is to get the stone before Team Moondusk and prevent them from resurrecting Darkrai," Leader Four stated and with that the little meeting was over.

We were soon on our way to the Sinnoh region where the inside sources claimed the stone was located. We decided to fly there since it was quicker and time was everything.

"So what's the plan here?" I asked as we landed.

"Simple, we go in and take the stone," Damon stated.

"I'm afraid it isn't that simple, there's something important you have to know. You can never directly touch the stone,"Cal said.

"Why not?" I asked with a frown.

"Because it's pure darkness, if you touch it then the darkness will consume you and you'll be filled with evil," He replied.

"Oh please, I'm sure that's just a myth," Damon said as he rolled his eyes.

"You take things way too lightly," I told him.

"Whatever, lets just get this over with," Cal said with a sigh.

I couldn't have agreed more.

We soon found ourselves scaling a mountain since Cal said we couldn't fly to the top incase Team Moondusk was already there. I wanted to tell him that if that were the case then we should want to get up there as fast as possible, but of course he had to do it the hard way. Before longCalended up way ahead of us, mostly because we were just lazy and had no desire to scale a mountain.

"I bet it'll be pretty dangerous if Moondusk is already up there," Damon huffed as we tried to catch up to Cal.

"Yeah probably," I simply said due to the fact I had to concentrate on climbing and it was freezing cold.

"And you're not worried?"

"What's to worry about? We get the stone we get out," I stated.

"You're very optimistic," He said with a grin and I rolled my eyes.

"Were you planning on something going wrong?" I questioned.

He stared at me for a minute before he answered, "I just have a really bad feeling about something."

By the time we made it to the top, Damon and I were gasping for breath. Despite how often Cal made us run we were still out of shape.

"Screw it. Next time. We're flying." Damon gasped.

"Well apparently I don't make you run enough," Cal stated causing us to groan.

We made our way to a cavern that led inside the mountain and it was, to my relief, much warmer inside. There were crystals on the walls that reflected the light from outside which seemed to light up the entire cavern. We looked around as we noticed it was strangely quiet.

"Anyone else getting the chills?" Damon asked as he leaned against the wall.

I rolled my eyes as I wasted no time standing around. I started deeper into the cave and after I made it a few feet in the ground collapsed under me.

"Whoa!" I yelped as I fell through the ground.

"Alec!" I heard Cal and Damon yell out to me as I fell into some kind of downward sloping tunnel. I then slid down deeper into the cave as I my friend's shouts grew fainter.

I tried to grab onto the ground to stop myself but it was too slick and I continued sliding into the darkness when the tunnel finally ended. Unfortunately for me, there was a large drop at the end which sent me falling quite a distance to the ground.

"Ow," I muttered as I looked up to figure out where I was.

I was a little surprised to find I fell right into a group of Team Moondusk grunts. They all turned around and glared at me.

"Hey guys, where's the party?" I said with a smirk as one of them reached for me.

I easily rolled away from his grasp as I jumped up. Another came charging at me and I ducked under his grasp, brought my leg up and kicked him in the face. The next grunt managed to hit me in the ribs and I winced as I took a step back. It was easy to see that I was out numbered and I looked around for any way of escape. Before I could calculate my plan any farther someone grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back.

"Well look who joined the party," The man who grabbed me said with a wicked laugh.

"I already used that joke," I stated and he pulled back on my arm harder.

"But hey, use it all you want," I choked out.

We heard someone sliding down the tunnel that I came out of, and before I knew it Damon fell out of the tunnel and landed right behind me.

"Ow," He muttered as he rubbed his head.

"Why wasn't I invited to the party?" He asked as he stood up.

"Dude that joke is so over used," I stated as Damon seemed to realize the situation we were in.

He didn't bother trying to fight back since he noticed we were out numbered.

"Where's Cal?" I whispered over to him and he replied with a shrug.

"You know, you two coming down here is pretty lucky on my part." The guy that had me stated. I could tell he was the leader of the group.

"And why is that?" Damon questioned.

"Because I'm in the need of a guinea pig," He replied and with that I knew we were in trouble.

We were roughly shoved deeper in the cave and Damon kept glancing in my direction. We finally made our way to the end of the cave and sitting on a tall flat rock was a dark stone.

"Tell me, do you know the legend of the Stone of Shadows?" The leader asked.

I heard Damon gulp next to me and I knew where this conversation was going.

"Of course you do, that's why you're here."

"So, which one of you is going to take the sacrifice?" He questioned with a wicked grin.

I reached down to grab one of my pokeballs but a grunt grabbed my wrist.

"Looks like we have a volunteer," The leader said with a laugh and I struggled to pull my wrist out of the grunt's grasp.

He then pulled me into a headlock and started pulling me toward the stone. I grunted as I tried my best to get out of the choke hold but I wasn't as strong as the large man that had me in his grasp.

"I don't really want to risk my own men by testing out what that stone can do, so you can see why it was lucky that you showed up," The leader said as I was being dragged.

Before I was pulled any further there was an explosion to the right side of the cave and from the smoke came Cal with his Kadabra behind him. He paused as soon as he saw the situation.

"Move another inch and I snap his neck," The guy holding me warned.

Cal stopped in his tracks and glared.

"Return the Pokemon," He commanded and Cal returned his Kadabra.

As soon as his Pokemon was gone another grunt came up behind him and knocked him out. The grunt then started to once again drag me toward the stone. My mind was in a million places as I thought about what was about to happen. This was supposed to be my last mission as a top member. What was Celia going to do when I didn't come back? And what about my family, I promised Kate I'd take care of myself, I had every intention of going back to visit her. I knew it would crush her when she found out, or if she ever found out. I wasn't even sure what was going to happen to me when I touched that stone but I knew it wasn't going to be good.

"Wait," Damon yelled at the last minute. "Let me do it."

"What are you doing?" I asked him as he stepped forward.

"You've got your sister to think about," He told me as he slowly started walking forward. After receiving a nod from the leader he was escorted toward the stone.

"And you have your brother!" I shouted despite the pressure I was feeling on my wind pipe. I struggled against the arm that was holding me in place as I tried everything to get out of his grasp and stop Damon from doing what he was about to do.

"Brian is a tough kid, he can take care of himself," He answered as he stopped in front of the stone.

"Damon don't," I begged.

I realized I didn't care what happened to me, I would have done anything to stop my best friend from touching that stone but I could only stand and watch as he reached out and grabbed it.

There was a huge flash of light and I had to close my eyes because it was so bright. When I opened them again Damon was on the ground. I took advantage of the moment I had, and drove my elbow into the gut of the guy holding me. As soon as he let go I ran over to Damon. The stone was lying next to him and I watched as the color became darker. Damon let out a moan and I quickly turned to him.

"Damon, hey are you all right?" I asked as I rolled him over.

He looked pale and about ready to pass out.

"Not really," He muttered.

"Just hang in there," I stated mostly because I really didn't know what else to say.

"I can feel it," He stated. "Something isn't right."

"You're ok, everything is going to be ok," I was babbling now because my mind couldn't really register what was happening.

"Don't tell Brian," He said as he closed his eyes.

"Don't tell him what?" I questioned.

"He can't know what happened, I don't want him to waste his life trying to save me," He explained.

I was a little confused but then I got it. I knew what the stone did and so did Damon.

"Don't give in to it," I urged but he ignored my comment as he once again opened his eyes. He threw his hand up and grabbed my shirt to pull my face closer to his.

"Promise me you won't tell him!" He begged and I saw his eyes were loosing the shine they once had.

"I promise," I stated as he once again closed his eyes. His hand slowly let go of my shirt and fell to the ground as he lost consciousness.

That was the last time that I saw my best friend, because after that, he was no longer himself.

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><p><strong>I'm not sure why but I didn't really like this chapter and I originally planned for Alec's past to only go about two chapters but it's a little longer than it was supposed to be. Oh well, I'm pretty sure the next chapter should wrap up the past and then it'll be back to Kate and of course Brian ;) Please leave a review!<strong>


	26. Past revealed part 3

Sorry this chapter was a little delayed, I broke my finger and then I got distracted from graduation and what not. But now my summer has started so hopefully I'll have more free time. Anyway here's the chapter you've all been waiting for!

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><p><strong>Alec's POV (6 years ago)<strong>

It had been a few months since Damon was forced to touch The Stone of Shadows and was taken away by Team Moondusk. I hadn't seen him since it happened but rumors did spread. Apparently the leader of Team Moondusk mysteriously disappeared without a trace and a part of me knew it had to do with Damon. Without a leader we all thought Moondusk was done but I guess Damon had other plans. That same day he made himself the new leader and the strange thing was, no one protested. It seemed as though Team Moondusk was perfectly happy following Damon; after all, he was full of evil.

I broke my promise to Celia. After Cal and I made it back to the base I knew there was no way I could quit being a top member. I knew it broke her heart, not that I would know, I hadn't talked to her since I left for that mission. I decided to spend all my time learning everything I could about The Stone of Shadows. Damon made me promise not to let his brother waste his life trying to save him, he never said I couldn't. Cal, on the other hand, couldn't stay a top member after what happened. He blamed himself for not being able to stop it, as if he could have. Cerulean City in the Kanto region was in need of a new base leader and he took the job right away.

"Did you hear?" Chris, a friend of mine, asked one day.

"About?" I questioned, not bothering to look up from the map of the region I was intently staring at with hopes of locating my long lost friend.

"The new leader of Moondusk finally made his appearance," He stated.

"What?" I said as he gained my attention.

"Yeah, he attacked some small town not too far from here," he said as he gave me a strange look.

I thought for a minute as I tried to figure out what Damon would be doing attacking some small town in the Johto region. I glanced down at the map in front of me and then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

"Brian," I muttered as I shot up from the table and ran out the door as I ignored Chris' shouts.

My Charizard flew me to Damon's home town and I knew my hunch was right. I saw the pillar of smoke before I even saw the town. As soon as I landed I ran straight to the burning house. There were people all around either helping to try and put it out or just simply staring. I saw a familiar face in the crowd and ran over to a guy I recognized as a resistance member.

"What happened?" I asked him. He glanced at me with a surprised look as if making sure it was really me. I got that response a lot.

"We don't really know," He replied.

"Was anyone hurt?" I asked as my mind thought of the worst.

"Yeah the couple living here was killed," He stated. My fears were realized as my breath caught in my throat. I knew I should have come for him sooner.

"And their son? Where is he?" I asked as I shook the man's shoulders.

"I-I don't know, they haven't found a body," He stuttered. I immediately released him and quickly ran toward the house. If they didn't find him that meant he must have escaped the fire.

I ran around to the back of the house and at the edge of the property, under a tree, I saw a small bundle. I walked over to it and found it was an Umbreon. At first glance I thought it was Damon's but then realized it was too small. I knew it had to belong to Brian, but if his Umbreon was here, where was he? I knelt down next to it and it looked up at me. I saw it was lying on a small black jacket.

"Is that Brian's?" I asked him and he nodded.

"Was he in that fire?" This time he shook his head no and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Did he run off?" He responded with another no.

I thought about it for a minute and knew where he was. I pulled out a picture I had of Damon and me and showed it to him.

"Did he take him?" I asked and was answered with a nod.

Great, so that meant Brian was with Damon, wherever he was. I massaged the bridge between my eyes in frustration. Umbreon stood up at the same time I did and looked at me expectantly.

"What?" I questioned as he stared.

"Bree, Umbreon!" He barked.

"I'm guessing you want to come with me?" I said and he nodded.

"It's going to be dangerous," I stated and but he didn't budge.

"Fine, let's go get your trainer back," I said as he jumped into my arms.

I didn't really know where to go from there and I ended up just heading back to base with Umbreon. I pulled out my map of the region and laid it out on a table. I just stared at it intently trying to figure out where Damon would go. Umbreon just huffed and walked right onto the map. He paused as he looked it over and placed his paw on a small area of forest by the Lake of Rage.

I raised an eyebrow as he stared at me intently.

"So you're telling me, Damon took Brian to a secret base hidden at the Lake of Rage?" I stated.

"Bree," He replied with a nod.

"How do you know, last I saw you got left behind," I said as I crossed my arms.

"Bree Umbreon!" He growled.

"Of course, you overheard them talking," I said as I figured out what he was trying to say. He confirmed it by nodding once again.

"Well, we're going to need some back up."

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><p>Cal raised an eyebrow at me as soon as he saw me walk into the base he ran, probably because there was an Umbreon walking by my side.<p>

"Nice Umbreon, whose is it?" He asked.

"Brian's," I replied. His eyes widened and he cleared his throat.

"I need your help," I added.

"I'm not a top member anymore," He stated as he tried to busy himself with a stack of papers on what I assumed was his desk. He was the leader of the base after all.

"I know, but this kid is in trouble and I can't do this by myself," I said as put my hand on the papers to put his attention back on me.

"I can't," He started.

"Damon wanted me to protect that kid, he's my responsibility now." I said.

"Stop talking about Damon like he's dead," Cal muttered.

"He might as well be," I retorted. Cal raised his head to glare at me.

"Are you going to help me or not?" I asked. He let out a sigh as he ran his hand down his face in frustration.

"I seriously can't, I have to run this base, but I know someone who can."

I soon found myself hiking my way through the forest surrounding the Lake of Rage with an Umbreon riding shotgun on my shoulder. Cal told me to meet up with a friend of his but I had yet to see signs of anyone. Just as I was about to ditch whoever he sent and go get Brian myself, a voice grabbed my attention.

"So you're Alec Leaf?" The deep voice said from behind me.

I turned around to find the owner of the voice was a tall brown haired guy who looked about my age.

"Depends on who wants to know," I replied.

He grinned and let out a chuckle.

"Steven," He said as he held his hand out for me to shake.

I just stared at it, and with a frown he returned it to his side.

"I've never heard of you, Cal said you were a top member?" I questioned.

"That's right; I was bumped up a rank after..." He paused when he realized what he was about to say.

I knew it wasn't really Steven's fault that he was chosen to replace Damon, after all he wasn't coming back and there had to be a certain number of top members at a time, but I couldn't help but feel a little hatred for the guy.

"Yeah," Was all I said as I started deeper into the forest. Steven said nothing as he trailed behind.

After walking for a few minutes we came a crossed an old run down building.

"Is this the place?" Steven asked as he came to stand next to me.

Brian's Umbreon seemed to sense something as he jumped off my shoulder and ran toward the building.

"I'd say yes," I answered Steven as I ran after the Pokemon.

He led us around to the back of the building where we stopped short when we ran into two grunts.

"What are you kids doing here?" The bigger grunt questioned.

Steven looked over at me and I nodded. I quickly pulled out a pokeball.

"Ampharos, thunder bolt!" I called out as my Ampharos was released from his ball.

He let out a cry as he launched his attack, which shocked the grunts out cold.

"Thanks a lot buddy," I said. He nodded as I returned him.

We quietly slipped inside and I knew it wouldn't be long before a swarm of grunts found out we were inside.

"So, you're a top member. You any good?" I asked Steven as I came to a halt.

"I can hold my own," He answered.

"Good, because in a about forty seconds there's going to be a swarm of grunts coming down this hall after us and I need you to stall them," I stated quickly.

He nodded and pulled out two pokeballs. I was impressed by the Magcargo and Nidoking he released.

"And you?" He questioned as I turned to head down the hall.

"I've got a meeting with an old friend," I replied as I ran down the hall.

I checked every room as I ran down the hall but all of them were empty. I was starting to think that I was too late and Damon had moved Brian somewhere else but in a room on the end a small figure caught my eyes. I paused in the doorway as a pair of shining blue eyes looked back at me. Brian was huddled in the corner of the room with his knees pulled up to his chin as he stared at me. Umbreon ran from behind me and jumped into the boys arms. Brian wrapped his arms around his Pokemon but other than that didn't move. I let out a sigh of relief as I walked into the room. He flinched as I bent down next to him.

"You're Brian?" I asked him, but he said nothing as he just stared at me.

"My name is Alec, I'm with The Resistance. Do you know what that is?" He didn't look like he was going to respond but nodded.

"I'm here to help you," I said.

"I want to go home," He muttered.

"Ok, I can do that," I lied. The poor kid had no idea that his parents were gone, he had no home to go back to.

I helped him stand and led him out of the room and back into the hall. If Steven was as good as I thought he was I had plenty of time to find another exit and get Brian out before I went back to help with the grunts. We didn't get far down the hall when I saw a familiar face.

"Long time no see," Damon said as he blocked the exit. He looked the same as he did the day he was taken; the only difference was his eyes that once shone bright were now just a dull blue. Brian stiffened and tried to hide behind me at the sight of his brother. Umbreon let out a warning growl and I put my hand on his head to show him it was okay, I had no intentions of letting Damon hurt Brian anymore.

"You'd think with your base being under attack you'd have better things to do than stand in front of an exit," I stated.

"Just as funny as always," He said with a grin.

"Just get out of the way Damon," I warned.

"Sure, just leave the kid here," He responded.

"You know I can't do that," I stated.

"Then you know I can't let you leave," He retorted as he pulled out a pokeball and sent out his Flygon.

It was obvious that his Pokemon wasn't quite used to Damon's new personality change, but I could tell Flygon was still obedient to him. As soon as his eyes fell on me Flygon's eyes lit up, almost as if he thought that because I was there Damon was back to normal.

"Flygon, attack," Damon ordered.

Flygon flinched as he looked back and forth between Damon and me. I slowly pulled out a pokeball of my own.

"Just like old times right?" I said to the nervous Pokemon as I sent out my Empoleon.

Empoleon let out a roar as he was released and looked confused when he noticed his opponent.

"I said attack Flygon! Hyper beam!" Damon yelled.

Flygon hesitated for a second before he charged up his attack and sent it straight toward us.

"Protect!" I called out and at the last minute Empoleon blocked the attack.

"Now, hydro pump!" Emopleon quickly shot out a surge of water that hit Flygon head on.

Damon growled in frustration as his Pokemon struggled to stand.

"Aqua jet," I commanded as I grabbed Brian's arm.

Empoleon launched himself at Flygon causing him to crash through the wall and bring up all the dust that covered the hall. I used it as a cover and returned Empoleon as I ran toward the exit with Brian and Umbreon in tow.

"I'm going to get you both!" Damon called after us though he didn't bother chasing us.

As soon as we made it outside we were met by Steven.

"How'd you get out here so fast?" I asked him.

"I think you underestimated me," He stated with a grin.

"Not bad," I told him.

I looked down at Brian who'd said nothing. Despite everything he'd been through he was still keeping it together. I had to admit he was strong for a twelve year old kid.

"Can I go home now?" He asked.

I didn't really know what to say. Brian had no home to go back to. Little did he know, The Resistance was his home now.

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><p>Again I'm sorry I took forever to write this chapter, and as an apology I already have the next chapter ready so I'll be posting it within the next few days :) I'll look forward to some reviews until then!<p> 


	27. Damon's plans!

**Well like I promised here's the next chapter! Thanks for the reviews and enjoy!**

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><p>After hearing Alec's story I knew four things for sure. One, Damon used to be a good guy. Two, Brian didn't know why Damon became evil or that the Stone of Shadows actually did consume people with darkness. Three, Alec, Damon, and Cal were all best friends (weird). Four, Alec spent the last six years of his life trying to save Damon while Brian's been trying to kill him. So many things were making sense now, it was giving me a headache.<p>

"Don't you love a good story?" Damon stated with a smile after a moment of silence.

I couldn't look at Damon as a horrible person anymore. It wasn't his fault he lost his marbles, the real Damon was somewhere in there and I knew there had to be a way to bring him back.

"Time to go," He said suddenly as he grabbed my wrist, a little too forcefully, and dragged me toward the door.

Alec stood up and tried to follow but only made it half way. I noticed he had a chain attached to his ankle and couldn't figure out how I missed that earlier.

"If anything happens to her, you're going to pay," He warned.

Damon just smiled that wicked smile as he dragged me out of the room.

"Let me go," I grunted as I tried to pry my arm out of his grasp.

"Relax, we're just going on a little tour," He said.

We made our way back down the hall and into the elevator. It took us all the way to the bottom, which happened to be underground. It's hard to describe what exactly I saw in the giant underground lab that Damon built, but to sum it up, it was the worst thing I'd ever seen in my entire life. All of the walls were filled with cages that held a large variety of different Pokémon. In the center of the room was a large machine that looked familiar. I assumed it was a giant version of the machine they used to control Pokémon.

"Tell me, do you know what that machine does?" Damon asked.

"It controls Pokémon," I replied with a glare.

"Not quite," He stated as he stared off into space.

"What?"

"I said not quite. You see, one can't just control a Pokémon. Mind control is a little beyond my reach. My machine simply changes their mind on certain viewpoints." He said.

"I don't understand," I stated as he lead me to a small cage.

"Notice these Rattata," He said as he motioned toward the two cowering Pokémon inside the cage. "It's in their nature to cower in fear of those stronger than them."

He led me to another cage that also held two Rattata but instead of being afraid the two Pokémon obediently sat down as if waiting for an order. Their red eyes confirmed they were under Damon's control.

"Now notice these Rattata. I simply altered the way they think and now they're as obedient as a Growlithe." He said with a satisfied smirk.

"So you're not controlling Pokémon, you're just making them think they're supposed to listen to you?" I questioned and Damon replied with a nod.

"But you already have smaller machines, why do you need the big one?" I asked as I looked over at the large version of his horrible creation.

"That machine is going to expand my mind altering abilities."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, my dear, that I can have more than just Pokémon at my command."

"As in people?" I gasped.

"Exactly," He said as he started walking back to the elevator.

"You already have an army of grunts why would you need to do that? I questioned.

"My grunts are weak, I've come to notice The Resistance has quite a collection of powerful trainers. With them at my command Team Moondusk will be unstoppable." He replied with a wicked smile.

"But... you can't..." I stuttered.

"Oh but I can, and I will. As soon as I get my hands on the stone, I'll have the power source I need." He stated as his grin grew bigger.

"I thought you wanted the stone to control Darkrai?" I questioned.

"Why would I want Darkrai when I can control an entire army of powerful trainers?" He had a point.

"Brian will never give it to you!" I yelled as he pulled me into the elevator.

"That's where you're wrong, in fact he's on his way over to deliver it to me right now." He said as he held on to both of my wrists, forcing me to look him in the eyes.

"Liar, why would he?" I questioned as I glared at him.

"Because I have something he values far more than the stone. I have you." He said as he leaned his face close to mine.

The air caught in my throat as I realized what he was saying. Brian was going to trade the stone for me. That idiot! Did he not realized what he was doing? I wasn't worth him and the rest of the top members becoming Damon's slave. But of course he didn't know that's why Damon wanted it. As far as he knew Damon was going to use the stone to control Darkrai. I had a feeling that if he controlled Brian, it would be much worse.

"Let me go!" I shrieked as I struggled to break free from Damon's grasp. I had to stop Brian from giving him the stone. I wasn't worth it!

"Now you understand the situation," Damon laughed as the elevator doors opened and he threw me out.

I landed in a heap on the ground and looked up to see two grunts waiting for us.

"Please take Miss Leaf to her room. Her knight in shining armor should be here soon." He laughed as he walked away.

I managed to kick one of the grunts in between the legs but the other quickly grabbed me and hauled me to a small room.

I wasn't sure how long I was in there, but I managed to hurt my shoulder in my attempt to ram the door down when I realized I still had all of my Pokémon with me.

"Smooth Kate," I muttered to myself.

I was about to release Sandslash when the door suddenly opened. I tensed as the grunt smirked down at me.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," He said as he held up an unconscious Pikachu.

I let out a gasp as I reached out for him but stopped short when the grunt pulled him away.

"Come with me," He said as he started walking down the hall.

Sure I could have tried attacking him from behind but I didn't really want to risk Pikachu getting anymore hurt than he already was. I was finally lead outside where I saw Damon and a group of his grunts standing around talking to someone. It wasn't until we walked up that I noticed it was Brian.

He was standing there with his hands stuffed in his pockets as he glared intently at his brother. As soon as he saw me walk up I could see relief fill his eyes.

"The stone if you will," Damon said as he held out his hand.

I tried to protest but the grunt quickly moved his beefy hand over my mouth turning my words to a muffled noise.

"Let them walk first," Brian replied. I noticed by 'them' he was referring not only to me, but also to Pikachu. I glanced over at my still sleeping Pokémon and hoped that he actually was just sleeping.

"What you don't trust me?" Damon mocked with a smirk. Brian's glare never faltered and Damon let out a sigh. He nodded toward the grunt holding Pikachu and he tossed him through the air. Luckily Brian easily caught him.

"Give me the stone and then I let her go," Damon stated.

Brian's jaw clenched, almost as if he didn't believe his brother, but he pulled the stone from around his neck and tossed it to him anyway. With a nod from Damon the grunt shoved me forward and I stumbled into Brian's arms. He handed me Pikachu and put an arm around me in a protective manner.

"What about Alec?" I whispered to Brian but my question was ignored.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Isn't it nice when we can be civil?" Damon said with a fake smile.

"Go to Hell," Was Brian's answer as he started backing away. He didn't turn his back just in case his brother was planning on double crossing him, which was exactly what he did.

While Brian was facing his brother, a grunt and his Slugma came up behind him. Although Brian didn't notice him, I did.

"Arcanine, flamethrower!" I called out, thinking quickly as I sent out my Pokémon just as the grunt ordered his own attack.

Arcanine let out a roar and used his attack which collided with the Slugma's. Arcanine's flames easily overpowered the Slugma's and knocked it out cold.

Brian turned around to see the Pokémon battling it out and turned back to glare at his brother.

"Figured you were lying," He stated as he sent out Tyranitar.

"Well lying is just much more fun," Damon replied with a smirk.

I looked around at the grunts surrounding us and I knew there was no way we were going to be able to fight them all. Brian already knew that and was way ahead of me.

"Now Tyranitar!" He ordered and with his command Tyranitar created a huge sandstorm.

"Time to move!" Brian yelled as he grabbed my arm and dragged me into the cover of the sand.

I quickly returned Arcanine as I was dragged into the surrounding forest.

We finally made it deep enough into the forest where Cal and the others were waiting and April quickly wrapped me in a hug.

"Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" She inquired.

I didn't answer her as I was too busy staring at the small bundle of fur in my arms. Pikachu looked ok, other than being a little dirty, he looked fine. I let out a sigh of relief.

"What about Alec? Why'd you leave him there?" I shouted at Brian.

He didn't really look surprised at my outburst and really just looked tired.

"I could only negotiate for one of you to be released," He stated simply.

"So why didn't you pick him?" I demanded.

"Because as long as Damon still had you, Alec would give himself in anyway." He answered as he started walking away.

"So that's it? You're just going to leave him there?" I yelled at him.

Everyone was silent as they looked back and forth between us. Brian stood with his back to me for a minute before he turned around to glare at me.

"If you want to go back in there and fight your way through over two hundred grunts be my guest," He stated as he once again started walking away.

I felt tears sting my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I was going to bring Alec back, maybe not at that moment, but I swore I would do it.

* * *

><p>It had been a few days since I was 'rescued' by Brian. We hadn't said a single word to each other since our argument about Alec, and I had no plans of saying anything to him anytime soon either. I didn't want to talk to Brian about what I found out from Damon and Alec so I told everything to April and figured she'd tell it to him. The only thing I left out was the part where Damon touched the stone, I figured if Alec ever wanted Brian to know, he'd tell him himself. Pikachu and I were back in training as if he had never been gone, and even though he hadn't trained in a while, he was just as good as ever.<p>

We were in the middle of training one day when Brian walked in.

"Hey," He said awkwardly as he avoided eye contact.

"Hi," I replied, not even bothering to look up.

"You sure have been training Pikachu a lot," He stated.

"Yeah," Was my simple answer.

"What did Alec tell you?" He asked after a moment of silence.

I looked up at him to find he was staring at me intently waiting for my answer. I assumed April did her job and told him everything.

"I think you already know the answer to that," I replied.

"I'm sorry," I said when he didn't say anything.

"What's there to be sorry about?" He asked as he bent over to pet Pikachu.

"I didn't know that... I just thought... I didn't know about your brother or your parents… You must've felt so alone." I answered as I stared at the ground.

He once again stayed silent and I though he wasn't going to say anything when he finally spoke up.

"How about a battle?" He asked and I finally looked up at him to find that old smirk was plastered on his face.

I could tell he didn't want to talk about it since he changed the subject so quickly.

"Alright," I agreed with a smirk of my own.

We made our way to the battle field and got into position. I was excited, I hadn't had a real battle with Brian in a long time.

"Ready Pikachu?" I asked.

"Pika!" Pikachu responded as his cheeks lit up in excitement.

He ran out onto the field as we waited for Brian to release his Pokémon. Part of me hoped he wouldn't use Umbreon, I hadn't really seen what any of his other Pokémon could do.

As if reading my mind Brian threw up a pokeball and out came Scizor.

Brian motioned to me telling me to start it off.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" I called.

"Pika!" He responded and unleashed a powerful electric attack.

Scizor easily avoided the attack.

"Metal claw," Brian ordered and Scizor launched its large glowing claw toward Pikachu.

"Dodge it with quick attack!" I countered.

Pikachu used quick attack to launch himself into the air to avoid the attack.

"Your Scizor can't match Pikachu's speed!" I yelled over to Brian.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," He replied with a smirk.

Before I could do anything Scizor jumped off the ground and hit Pikachu head on in midair. Pikachu let out a yelp as he was thrown down to the ground.

"But Scizor are supposed to get slow when they evolve," I stated in shock.

"They are, but you'd be surprised to find a lot of Pokémon can do anything as long as their trainer trains them right. I thought I taught you that." He replied with a shrug.

I let out a growl as Pikachu stood up.

"Use another thunderbolt!" I yelled over to him.

Pikachu's attack hit this time but since Scizor is a steel type the attack didn't do much damage.

"Double team," Brian called and Scizor easily duplicated itself and surrounded Pikachu.

Pikachu panicked as he tried to guess which Scizor was the real one. Before I could even blink the real Scizor jumped out and hit Pikachu with a metal claw.

"Pika!" He cried out as he was knocked back.

"Pikachu! Are you ok?" I called over to him.

He nodded his head as he slowly stood back up.

"Double team again," Brian commanded and Scizor once again surrounded Pikachu.

"We're not falling for that again," I said to myself.

"Paralyze him Pikachu!" I yelled and with a determined look Pikachu used a thunder wave that stopped Scizor in his tracks.

Brian actually looked surprised and I took advantage of it.

"Now, volt tackle!" I ordered and Pikachu charged up as he rammed himself into Scizor sending him flying back.

"Not bad Kid," Brian said as his Pokémon stood back up.

"But Pikachu is looking a little warn out over there," He said as he nodded toward Pikachu.

I followed his gaze and noticed just how wiped Pikachu was.

"I think this battle is over," I said as I ran over to my Pokémon.

"You did good buddy," I told him as he passed out into my arms.

"You've improved a lot, you had a serious disadvantage and yet you held your own. We might just make a top member out of you yet." Brian said as he walked over to me.

I couldn't help but smile at the thought of making Brian proud of me, and that even though a few minutes ago we weren't even talking, we managed to mend it with a simple battle. It was then that I saw a familiar figure behind Brian. At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me but as he came closer I realized it was Alec.

"Alec!" I shouted as I stood up.

Brian spun around in time for Alec to grab him by the throat.

"What are you doing?" I yelped as he looked over at me.

I then noticed his eyes. Alec's brown eyes that once matched my own were now a dark red that sent chills down my spine.

"No," Was all I could mutter.

Brian may have been shocked but he was trained to act in any situation. He quickly used his free arm to drive his elbow into Alec's arm that was holding him. Alec let out a grunt as he released him. Once he was free, Brian pulled a pokeball from his belt and backed away from my brother.

"So what you told April was true," He said to me as he backed up next to me.

"I didn't think he could actually do it." I muttered.

We all just stood there staring at each other for a while until Alec finally broke the silence.

"Don't be a fool Brian, you know you can't beat me," He said to Brian.

"What are you doing? Since when do you do what Damon says?" I asked him.

He looked over to me with his cold calculating eyes.

"Damon is my best friend. You better get out of here before you get hurt little girl." He replied.

"You'd really attack your own sister?" Brian asked.

"I don't have a sister," Alec answered with a glare.

His words hurt more than they should have and I felt the air get caught in my throat.

"He doesn't know what he's saying. Damon is in control of his thoughts now." Brian whispered to me.

"If you won't come willingly then I'll take you by force." Alec stated as he sent out his Dragonite.

Dragonite looked at Brian and I could see he recognized him. He looked back over to Alec as if he wasn't sure what was going on.

"Kate, get back," Brian warned as he readied his pokeball.

When I didn't move he turned around.

"I said move!" He yelled and I quickly jumped to my feet with Pikachu in my arms and ran away from what was about to take place.

In a battle between Brian and Alec who knew what could happen.

* * *

><p><strong>So there's going to be some Brian Vs. Alec in the next chapter! And just out of curiosity I'd like to know who you guys think would win, so I've posted a poll on my profile so check it out! :)<strong>


	28. Something's up with Brian?

**Wow, sorry I've fail to update! My job is keeping me very busy and such, but I made some time today to write up this chapter! So enjoy!**

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><p>Brian sent out his Tyranitar and I watched from afar as the two trainers stared each other down.<p>

"Don't be stupid, this is a battle you know you can't win." Alec stated.

Brian's jaw clenched and I could tell part of him was thinking Alec was right. Did he really fear my brother?

"Dragonite, water pulse!" Alec commanded, starting the battle off.

The attack caught Brian off guard and nailed Tyranitar directly. Although Tyranitar's armor is strong it was easy to see the attack did some serious damage.

"Stone edge!" Brian countered, and Tyranitar surrounded himself with rocks and launched them at Dragonite who could only stand in place and take the blow.

Dragonite looked like he had taken a lot of damage but wasn't done yet.

"Quick in the air!" Alec shouted. Dragonite launched himself into the air with so much speed he looked like a blur.

I know Brian was in for it now. On the ground Dragonite was a walking target but in the air there was no way Tyranitar could even see it, let alone get a hit in. My theory was proved correct as Tyranitar tried multiple stone edge attacks but failed to hit every time.

"This will be over quickly," Alec stated.

In a movement so quick I could hardly catch it, Dragonite flew by launching a powerful hyper beam. Tyranitar was unable to see the attack coming and took another direct hit. He tried another stone edge but once again failed to hit his target. Dragonite flew by once again and launched another powerful hyper beam but Tyranitar managed to move out of the way, causing the attack to hit the ground and raise dust into the air. The dust provided the perfect cover for Tyranitar, and Brian took advantage of it.

"Use your own hyper beam Tyranitar!" Brian ordered, and Tyranitar launched a hyper beam from inside the dust cloud that knocked Dragonite out of the sky.

Dragonite managed to land on his feet right in front of Tyranitar and the two Pokemon soon began a battle of pure strength, but it seemed as though the fight was pretty even.

Without warning Alec charged toward Brian and tackled him to the ground. Brian seemed a little caught off guard but quickly recovered. He managed to roll Alec off of him and jump to his feet. Alec jumped up and took a few swings at Brian who easily ducked and dodged.

"Are you insane?" Brian exclaimed as Alec continued his attack.

"Our Pokemon may be even, but there's more than one way to take you with me!" Alec explained.

He took another swing and managed to hit Brian right in the face. Brian brought his hand up to his mouth to find blood on his lip. He looked over at Alec with a glare so intense it gave me the chills. He spit the blood from his mouth onto the ground as he calculated his next move.

I felt it was time I called in some help, otherwise those two might try to kill each other. So while they were fighting it out, I called Cal on my pokegear and explained the whole thing to him. He freaked out and said something about getting help.

I really hoped help came quickly as I looked back over to the fight to find Brian wasn't doing so well. I could tell he'd gotten a few good hits in but the fact was, Alec was still bigger and more experienced. I gasped as Alec did a roundhouse kick and nailed Brian in the ribs, throwing him to the ground. He rolled over to his knees and tried to stand back up but he quickly fell back down clutching his side in pain. I saw where he was hit was the same spot he was hit by the Steelix not too long ago.

As Alec took a step toward Brian I reacted without thinking.

"Stop it!" I screeched as I ran up behind Alec and wrapped my arms around him.

"Please stop, this isn't you." I begged.

Alec turned around to look at me and for a split second it almost looked as if he recognized me but he quickly shook it off. In one swift motion he brought his fist down and hit me right in the stomach, and I fell to the ground gasping for breath. I certainly wasn't expecting him to hit me. As soon as I was on the ground Brian was back up looking even more pissed than before, if that was even possible.

Alec turned to face him, ready to go another round but was interrupted.

"That's enough Alec," Cal warned as he walked up with a Butterfree perched on his shoulder. Steven and Caleb were right behind him with their own Pokemon ready.

Alec looked at the three new opponents and then back to Brian and then at me as I stood up.

"You can't fight us all," Brian stated with a glare.

Alec grunted in anger as he recalled his Dragonite, released his Staraptor, and flew away.

"I'm so confused!" Caleb finally said as soon as my brother was gone.

As soon as we felt the danger was gone Brian and I let ourselves fall to the ground with a sigh.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"I should be asking you that, you got beat up a lot more than I did." I replied.

He simply shrugged and said, "I'm used to it."

The others came running over to us and helped us limp/walk back to base.

* * *

><p>An hour later I found I already had a nasty bruise forming from the hit from Alec, but it was nothing compared to the damage done to Brian.<p>

"OW!" Brian hissed with a glare to Cal as he was inspecting his injuries.

"If you'd quit being such a baby this would be going a lot smoother." Cal retorted.

"How about I crack YOUR rib and we'll see how smooth it goes," Brian replied with a glare.

"So let me get this straight, Brian's older brother is evil, and he's using The Stone of Shadows to control elite trainers?" Caleb questioned.

"Basically," Steven answered.

"So what are we going to do about Alec?"

"I'm going to kick his-" Brian started but was silenced by a glare from Cal.

"There's no way to get through to him, Kate proved that." Cal said as he looked over at me apologetically. I cringed as his words crept into my thoughts. If his own sister couldn't save him, then who could?

"What if we destroyed the machine?" Caleb suggested.

"It wouldn't do any good. Damon already messed with his mind, the machine has nothing to do with it anymore." Brian stated as he pulled his shirt down after Cal wrapped it up. I quickly looked away when he saw me staring.

"So then what are we supposed to do?" He asked sounding frustrated.

"For now, there's nothing we can do." Steven answered.

I sighed and left to go pick up Pikachu from Nurse Joy since I was sure he'd be mad it took me so long. I didn't really want to be in that room anymore anyways. I was on my way there when I was intercepted by Brian.

"Hey, I'm glad to see you're able to walk around." I said awkwardly as I noticed there was no one else in the hall.

"I told you I was fine," He assured me.

"You always are," I muttered. Brian was always so composed and I couldn't help but envy him.

"I'm sorry," He said after a moment of silence and I gave him a questioning look.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop your brother," He clarified.

"It's ok, it wasn't your job to," I said with a forced smile.

"Yes it was, I was there, and I failed you." He said with a very serious expression.

"No, I think I was that one that failed." I replied as I stared intently at the ground. It seemed as though I was completely useless. It was my fault for getting captured in the first place. If it wasn't for me, Damon wouldn't have the stone, and Alec would still be himself.

I wasn't sure why, but I felt a tear make its way down my face.

"I don't even know why I'm crying, sorry." I mumbled as I quickly wiped it away.

"You don't have to keep putting on an act. It's ok to cry sometimes." He stated as he looked me in the eyes.

Everything that had happened had finally caught up with me. No teenage girl should ever have to go through as much as I had recently. All the fear and pain was finally released as I let out a choked sob and the tears fell endlessly down my face. Without a single word Brian pulled me into his arms as I lost my composure.

"I swear I'll bring your brother back to you," He stated over my shoulder as I cried into his shirt.

* * *

><p>After I cried my eyes out I went and picked up Pikachu and sat around in my room. It wasn't long before April came barging in demanding to know every detail of what happened. I explained all of it, even the part where I cried all over Brian's shirt.<p>

The next day I noticed Brian was acting a little weird. I couldn't help but think if it was because of the conversation we had.

"Hey Brian can you pass the salt?" April asked as we sat in the cafeteria eating breakfast.

He didn't seem to hear her as he stared at his plate.

"Hello! Salt!" She screeched at him.

"Why are you yelling?" He asked sounding annoyed as he handed it to her.

"Are you ok?" I asked him and he just shrugged.

"Why wouldn't I be?" He questioned as he got up and left without eating a single bite of food.

"Something's wrong," I stated as soon as he was out of ear shot.

"You think?" April mocked.

"Do you think it has anything to do with yesterday?" I questioned.

I glanced over at Pikachu to find him covering my eggs in ketchup.

"Of course it does, maybe he finally realized his love for you." April said with a wicked grin.

"Now is not the time for jokes, this could be serious." I stated as I took the bottle of ketchup from Pikachu since he already ruined my breakfast.

"I am being serious. Trust me, he wouldn't have let you cry all over him if he was going to make big deal about it. He's too serious for that." She stated.

"Then why is he acting so weird?"

"Well, maybe he's just thinking of ways to find your brother?" She suggested as she stared at Pikachu questioningly while he attempted to snatch the bottle from my hand.

"Maybe, he seemed pretty serious when he said he was going to bring him back." I thought out loud.

"I'm going to go talk to him," I stated as I stood up from the table.

I picked up Pikachu and left the ketchup on the table.

"Pika," He cried with a pout.

"Fine stay here," I said and he quickly jumped onto the table and started licking the bottle.

April just shrugged as I rolled my eyes and left to go find Brian.

I looked around the entire base for him but couldn't find him anywhere until I passed by a window and saw him outside sitting under a tree.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I went outside and walked up to him.

"Just thinking," He said as he stood up to face me.

I felt a little self-conscious after the day before and took a step back. He seemed to notice this and I played with my hair so I didn't have to look at him.

"Why do you keep doing that?" He questioned.

"What?" I inquired.

"You keep avoiding my gaze, what's so hard about looking at me?"

"Nothing," I stated as my hair seemed to become even more interesting.

He then grabbed my wrist and pulled it away from my face, forcing me to meet his gaze.

"Do you by any chance, like me?" He asked.

I felt my heart stop as he stared at me intently waiting for a reply. This was my chance to tell him how I felt and get it all out in the opened, but part of me didn't want to. My thoughts went back to what Caleb had told me, that I would just be burden to him. He was right, Brian traded the stone for me. He almost got killed by a Steelix because of me, I was no good for him. I couldn't tell Brian how I felt, for his own good.

"No, why do you ask?" I lied with a fake smile.

He seemed a little surprised by my reply.

"I just thought... never mind." He said with a shrug.

"I have to go," He stated as he walked passed me and headed back inside.

I wasn't sure but it almost looked as if he was disappointed. I felt like kicking myself. I just hoped I made the right choice.

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><p>Oh Kate you foolish girl :P I already have the next chapter finished so I'll try to upload it soon, in the meantime leave a review!<p> 


	29. Umbrella

**So I've had this one written for a while but I just couldn't seem to get it right so I rewrote it a few times. Sorry the update took so long but with school it's hard to find the time to write. Anyway here's the chapter.**

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><p>"You what?" April screeched after I told her about my lie to Brian.<p>

I spent the entire morning in April's room explaining the situation to her but she didn't seem to see it my way.

"I had to, what if he felt the same way?" I questioned.

"What do you mean what if? He obviously does, and that should be a good thing!" She shouted.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed from his seat on April's shoulder.

"But it wouldn't be. Caleb was right, Brian is too important in this war, he can't afford any distractions. I'd only be a burden to him." I stated.

"Don't you think it's a little late for that?" She muttered.

"It doesn't matter, I can't tell him how I really feel."

"Well then I'll tell him," She said as she quickly stood up out of her chair.

I raised my eyebrow and she sat back down knowing I caught her bluff.

"It's fine, there are more important things going on right now. We need to find a way to fix my brother's brain." I said thoughtfully.

"So what are you going to do?" She questioned.

"I hadn't really thought that far ahead yet," I said with a small laugh causing April to sigh.

"Well we might as well keep busy, we can ask Cal if there are any jobs available," She suggested.

I shrugged indicating I was ok with the idea. My thoughts drifted back to how strange Brian was acting before he asked if I liked him. Was he really just that caught up with the idea of me liking him? Or was there something else that was troubling his thoughts?

I followed April out of the room and down the hall but we stopped short when we heard familiar voices.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Cal's voice asked from around the corner.

"Yeah, they need me and I have nothing keeping me here," I heard Brian mutter.

April glanced over at me but I kept my gaze straight ahead as I listened in.

"You don't mean that," Cal reasoned.

"Yes I do, she doesn't need me. Not anymore," Brian stated.

"Then you owe it to her to tell her."

"I doubt she'd know I was gone." Brian replied with a sigh.

I felt it was pretty obvious they were talking about me. I couldn't listen in anymore and appeared from around the corner to find a very shocked Cal and Brian.

"So that's it? You were just going to leave without saying anything to me?" I yelled.

"Kate-" Cal started.

"No she's right," Brian cut him off. He stared at me intently, his face void of any emotion.

"Why?" I asked with my hands shaking at my side.

"Hearthome City is the only city left in Sinnoh, they need me." He simply replied.

"I need you," I stated.

"No, you don't."

"You swore! You swore you wouldn't leave! What happened to always?!" I yelled.

It almost looked like he flinched but he quickly covered it up.

"It doesn't matter anymore," and with that he walked passed me and down the hall.

"You're a selfish jerk Brian Dean!" I yelled after him.

"Kate!" April called out as I stormed my way down the hall to my room.

"I guess my feelings don't really matter now do they?" I asked her as she caught up to me.

"Of course they do! He's just being a stupid boy!" She reassured.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed.

"Just leave me alone," I told her as I got to my room and closed the door on her face.

Ok so that was probably rude of me, but I really didn't want to listen to her defend him. How could she side with him after what he said?

After a while I heard a tap at my door. I figured it was April and didn't make a sound hoping she'd take the hint and leave. To my surprise it was Cal who opened the door.

"Can I come in?" He asked.

"I guess," I answered.

"He doesn't really want to leave you know," He stated as he sat down on my bed next to me.

"That's not what it seemed like," I muttered.

"Brian does more for The Resistance than he should. That boy has more weight on his shoulders than anyone here."

"So why does he do it?" I questioned as I sat up to face him.

"I guess he feels responsible. He thinks that because it's his brother that's causing the problems it's his job to fix them."

"Well he's stupid, he's just going to get himself hurt."

"Brian's a tough kid, he can take care of himself."

"He has friends who would do anything for him, he doesn't have to take care of himself."

"I think he's just afraid to let people in."

"That's no excuse," I muttered as I buried my face back in my pillow.

"You're right, I just wonder how long it'll take him to realize that." He said with a sigh.

I didn't move and I felt the bed shift next to me.

"He's leaving in an hour, maybe you should say good-bye. I'm sure he'd like that." He said as he stood up and walked out of the room.

"Yeah, sure." I sighed as I looked out my window to find it had started to rain.

My exhaustion from the day caught up with me and I let my eyes flutter closed as I drifted to sleep.

* * *

><p><em>I opened my eyes to find myself walking through a dark forest. It felt like a dream but at the same time it felt eerily real.<em>

_"Hello?" I called out, but received no answer other than the wind._

_"Hello? Anyone?" I tried again but was once again greeted with silence._

_I heard a noise behind me and turned around to find there was no one there._

_"Who's there?" I asked but there was still no answer._

_I heard another noise behind me and turned around to see Brian run passed me._

_"Wait!" I yelled as I chased after him._

_He didn't seem to hear me and just kept running._

_"Brian!" I called out as I managed to catch up._

_I reached out to grab the sleeve of his shirt. As soon as I managed to snag it, he disappeared leaving just his shirt in my hand._

_"Brian?" I questioned as I glanced around to find I was no longer in the forest but surrounded by complete darkness._

_"Where'd you go?" I called out._

_"Don't leave me!" I yelled into the darkness as I felt myself sag to the ground._

_"Come back," I whispered to myself as I clenched my eyes shut._

_When I opened them again Brian was standing in front of me but he was no longer my Brian. His eyes were the same dark red that my brother's now were. He smiled an evil smile that sent a chill down my spine._

_"You're next," He warned_.

* * *

><p>I woke up with a gasp. My dreams were becoming more intense lately and what scared me the most was that they tended to come true. Did that mean Brian was going to become controlled by Damon just like Alec?<p>

"Pika!" Pikachu nudged me and pointed toward the clock with a sense of urgency.

I didn't get why he was upset until I realized Brian was supposed to have left ten minutes ago. I didn't know why I was having those dreams or even if it would come true but part of me knew I couldn't let Brian leave without telling him the truth. This could be my last chance.

I ran as fast as I could down the halls and shot through the main door not caring that it was pouring rain. I was panting when I came to a stop and was instantly drenched. I frantically looked around for any sigh of him causing my wet hair to stick to my face. All I saw was the muddy ground and the trees dripping with water, not a soul was in sight. I'd missed him, I was so mad that I let him leave without saying goodbye. Now he'd never know the truth, if that dream came true I'd never get to tell him. Just as I felt tears start to sting my eyes the rain stopped hitting me.

"What are you doing?" A familiar voice asked from behind me sounding incredibly annoyed.

I quickly whirled around to find Brian giving me a questioning look while holding an umbrella over my head, despite the fact that I was already soaked.

"I thought you left," I told him as I was finally able to regain my breath.

"Do you really think I'd leave without saying goodbye?" He questioned as if I was the biggest idiot in the world for even considering the possibility.

I shook my head.

"After the fight we had I couldn't blame you if you did," I muttered.

"Don't be stupid," He said as he pushed some of my wet hair out of my eyes.

It was then that I knew I really was the biggest idiot in the world. I had to tell him the truth now or I'd regret it.

"I lied," I exclaimed before I could stop myself.

"About?" He asked with an arched brow.

"I lied when I said that I didn't like you," I explained.

His eyes widened slightly out of surprise but I continued before he could say anything.

"I thought that I was just a burden to you and I didn't want to get in your way. I thought I was no good for you so I lied! I lied because I thought I was doing the right thing! But I do like you! I've liked you ever since that day you saved me in the forest and even if you don't feel the same way that's ok because my feelings aren't going to change and I won't give up!"

With this sudden outburst he stared at me for a minute and then he actually started to laugh. That wasn't exactly the reaction I was hoping for.

"You weren't supposed to laugh," I said feeling a little sad by his response.

"I'm sorry it's just, that's the strangest confession anyone's ever given me!" He managed to say in between is laughter.

Of course Brian's had a lot of confessions, he WAS really good looking. It didn't occur to me that to him I could have been just another fan girl.

"I'm sorry my feelings are so funny to you!" I shouted over the rain that was hitting the umbrella.

He immediately stopped laughing at my outburst and stared at me intently.

"You didn't let me finish, that was the strangest confession I've ever received, but it was the first one that ever made me happy." He stated.

I stared at him for a minute after I realized what he said. He was actually happy that I confessed to him. That meant he liked me back right?

"It did?" I asked just to make sure.

"Would I have said so if I didn't mean it?" He asked as he rolled his eyes.

I felt a smile creep its way onto my face.

"So then you feel the same way about me?" I questioned.

"Are you really going to make me say it?" He asked with a sigh. I just stared at him expectantly.

"I like you, ok?" He stated looking embarrassed, and with that I threw my arms around him and brought my lips to his.

I'd had thoughts about kissing Brian Dean like this, but none of them even compared to actually doing it. His lips were soft and seemed to fit perfectly against my own. The umbrella was soon forgotten, as he wrapped his arms around me, and it fell to the ground with the rain instantly soaking us, but we didn't care. Suddenly he was kissing me harder, deeper, with a passion I'd never seen in him before. I could tell he'd wanted to kiss me just as much as I'd wanted to kiss him. We broke apart gasping for breath and drenched from head to toe but we hardly noticed.

"You have no idea how hard you're making it to leave," He stated as he rested his forehead against mine.

"But you're still leaving aren't you?" I asked as I stared into his eyes.

"I have to. Without me we'll lose Sinnoh," He answered even though I could tell he really didn't want to.

He picked the umbrella up off the ground and placed it in my hand even though he needed it more than I did.

"I'll be back before you know it," He said with a small smile.

"Promise?" I asked as I held up my pinky.

He smirked as he looked down at my hand.

"Always," He said as he wrapped his pinky in mine.

I watched as he walked off into the forest leaving me and his umbrella behind. He was probably going to catch a cold since he was now walking in the rain but it didn't seem to bother him.

"You better come back in one piece!" I yelled out to him.

He replied with a wave over his shoulder as he disappeared into the darkness of the forest. I wasn't sure if he'd come back as himself, but even if he didn't I'd do everything in my power to save him because I wasn't going to let that dream come true. The truth was I really did need Brian and there was no way I was going to let Damon take him away.

* * *

><p><strong>Well they finally confessed their feelings and then Brian leaves, I feel evil :P I hope to have the next chapter done soon, I look forward to some reviews until then :)<strong>


	30. New Mission: Case of the Missing Kids

**So school has been a bit more work than I thought it would be so I really haven't had much time to write. Though now the semester is almost over so I'll have more time. Sorry for how long this update took :(**

* * *

><p>I walked back into the base to find April and Cal standing next to one of the windows that just so happened to have an excellent view of the area I was just standing in with Brian. April looked over to find I had walked back in and let out a yelp as she tried to back away from the window. I paused as I stared them down with my wet hair sticking to my face, I wanted nothing more than to change out of my wet clothes but there were apparently more pressing issues.<p>

"You didn't..." I warned as I narrowed my eyes.

"It was Cal's idea. As soon as he saw you run outside he dragged me with him!" She explained as she threw her hands up in defense.

"What?!" Cal shouted sounding mortified as he looked to April in disbelief.

"You're both so dead! Don't you know spying is wrong?" I yelled.

"Can you blame us? You just made out with Brian Dean!" She exclaimed.

I immediately shushed her.

"The whole world doesn't need to know!" I hissed as I looked around to find a few people staring at us.

"It's like a tragic love story, you finally get together and he leaves you to go fight in a war! You must be so heartbroken!" She stated dramatically as she took my hands in hers in some attempt to comfort me.

"Cut it out!" I snapped as I pulled my hands away.

"So what was said? I want all the details!" She gushed.

"I don't want to talk about it right now," I blushed as I felt some intense stares being directed toward me from around the room.

Before April could protest, a loud bang echoed through the base from the main door. The room went silent as everyone paused to stare at the door. There was another loud bang followed by another. Without hesitation Cal calmly made his way to the door. He took one glance back at us and slowly opened it to find a man standing in the rain completely out of breath.

"Please! Please help us!" He begged, leaving everyone in the room speechless.

* * *

><p>"Please explain what happened," Cal calmly said to the man after we managed to calm him down.<p>

"A few months ago our town was taken over by Team Moondusk." The man started.

"After a few weeks of them being there our children started disappearing. It was just one or two at first, but then more started going missing."

"So you think this has something to do with Team Moondusk?" Cal questioned.

The man reluctantly nodded his head. We all exchanged confused glances. It wasn't like Team Moondusk to go around kidnapping children. Damon had more important plans that involved top members, what would he need kids for? Although Damon did tend to be unpredictable.

"At first we thought the children just ran away in fear of Team Moondusk, but the more time that passed, the more children went missing. Now there are only a few of them left, all children under the age of seventeen are just gone." The man explained.

"Why would Team Moondusk want to take little kids?" April asked.

"There's no proof Team Moondusk is behind this." Cal answered.

"Please, they took my daughter! We have no one else to help us." The man begged.

"This will require some looking into, April and Kate, I want you two to follow this man back to his town and look into the matter." Cal ordered.

"Finally!" April cheered.

"Yes sir," I replied.

"Steven, I can't give you orders but I assume you'll be tagging along?" Cal asked Steven, who had wandered into the room at some point.

"Of course," He replied with a grin.

"Oh thank you!" The man said with hope filled eyes.

I just hoped we wouldn't be too late.

* * *

><p>"So where's Caleb?" I questioned April as we packed.<p>

I hadn't seen him in the meeting earlier and I figured he'd volunteer to be part of the investigation team the minute he heard about it.

"Oh he was called to main base for some reason and left this morning." She replied with a shrug.

It was weird that Caleb would be called there. The only ones that took orders directly from main base were base leaders and top members. I couldn't help but wonder what Caleb's ranking was. He usually went wherever he wanted and didn't seem to take any direct orders from anyone. Could it be Caleb is a top member and didn't tell me?

"All packed, let's get this show on the road!" April shouted with an extremely happy tone that broke me out of my trance.

"Ready Pikachu?" I asked my Pokemon.

"Pika!" He answered as a yes as he jumped onto my shoulder.

I slung my backpack on and followed April out the door where we met up with Steven and the man from earlier, who's name I found out was Charlie.

The walk to the town was fairly short and we mostly walked in silence, although I was glad it had stopped raining. Charlie led us to his house in town and we all kept our heads low hoping none of the grunts would recognize us. Once we were inside we let out a sigh of relief.

"Ok, so what's the game plan?" April asked Steven.

"It'll probably be best for you two to gather any kind of information you can on the town." He answered.

"And what are you going to do?" I questioned.

"I'll look into Team Moondusk," He replied.

Of course he'd give us the simple job while he did the job with all the action. I couldn't blame him for thinking we couldn't handle ourselves, but part of me was a little irritated and I could tell April had the same thoughts.

"Meet back here in two hours," He stated, and with that he left the house before we could argue.

"No fair," April complained.

"Why does he get to do all the fun stuff leaving us with the lame job?"

"Maybe because he has more experience?" I answered as I rolled my eyes.

I noticed even Pikachu seemed unhappy with our job.

"Look guys, our job is important too. We don't even know if Team Moondusk is behind this, it could be something else." I stated, but my optimism wasn't very believable.

Pikachu hid in my jacket as we wandered the small town hoping to find some kind of clue that would help us find the kids.

As we walked down a deserted street we noticed a lot of posters involving missing children.

"It's really sad," April commented.

I nodded my head as I stared at one in particular of a little girl with red curly hair named Lucy.

"You two aren't from here are you?" A strange old man asked us as we walked passed him.

"No, how'd you know?" I asked.

"No kid your age would be stupid enough to be walking around without an adult. Kids like you go missing around these parts." He warned as he walked away.

April glanced over at me indicated she was incredibly freaked out. But the guy had a point, any kid under the age of eighteen was going missing and April and I just so happened to fit that category. I could tell April had the same thought as she gave me a mischievous look.

"No way, not happening." I stated and I knew she could tell I knew exactly what she was thinking.

"What?" She asked.

"Something bad could happen," I replied.

"Nothing bad will happen, I'm going to use myself as bait and you stand by and keep watch for whoever is coming." She said with confidence.

I didn't agree.

"This is a bad idea," I said for the millionth time a few minutes later as we stood at the top of a building in a very sketchy part of town.

"Nonsense," She told me.

"So here's the plan. I'll be sitting on that bench alone and you'll be watching me from up here." She stated as she pointed to a bench across the street.

"If you see anyone coming, call me on the pokegear, okay?"

"I have a bad feeling about this," I warned.

"This is a brilliant plan, finding the kidnapper will be a cinch."

"Shouldn't we tell Steven?" I asked.

"Why so he can turn our plan down? No way! This is going to work!" She stated.

"Then at least take Pikachu with you, just in case something goes wrong." I said.

"Fine," She replied with a roll of her eyes as Pikachu jumped from my jacket to hers.

"Look out for her okay buddy?" I told him and he replied with a salute.

April sat out on the bench for what seemed like hours.

"I don't think anyone is coming," I told her over the pokegear.

"I don't get it, this was a great plan." She stated.

"Yeah well I might have to disagree with that statement." I replied just as I heard a noise behind me.

I froze as I blocked out April's nagging to hear someone breathing behind me. I slowly turned around to come face to face with a pair of red bug eyes. I let out a surprised scream as a strange powder hit my face making me very sleepy. I managed to catch a glimpse of a group of Pokemon as I slowly fell to the floor. As I fell into unconsciousness I promised myself I was going to kill April for coming up with her stupid plan.

* * *

><p><strong><span>April's POV<span>**

"Hello? Kate? Are you listening to me?" April questioned her friend through the pokegear.

When she was replied with silence she looked over at Pikachu who simply shrugged.

"I wonder-" April's sentence was cut off by a piercing scream.

"Kate!" She screeched into the pokegear as she took off running back to the roof that her friend was on.

When she finally managed to make it to the top she found it to be completely deserted. Kate was gone, and so was whoever took her.

"Steven is going to kill me," April stated as Pikachu sniffed around the roof.

He eventually made it to the area where Kate had been sitting only minutes before and stopped. He looked around and continued his search of the roof but seemed to find nothing.

"Pika Pikachu!" He called out hoping to hear Kate reply.

The only sound was the echo of his call.

"Pika!" He tried again with the same response.

"Pika Pi," He muttered with sadness as he sat down in defeat.

"We'll find her, I promise." April said to reassure him.

She felt guilty that it was her stupid idea that was to blame. She just hoped Kate wasn't in too much trouble.

* * *

><p><strong>Kate's POV<strong>

"Hey are you alright?" An unfamiliar voice asked.

I slowly opened my eyes to find I was in a strange room. On closer inspection I could see that it was dusty and covered in spider webs, I assumed it meant I was in some kind of abandoned house.

"Where am I?" I questioned as I sat up.

"Don't know, we think it must be an abandoned mansion somewhere outside of town." Said the voice.

I looked over to find the voice belonged to a boy somewhere around my age. He had short blond hair and greyish eyes. His boyish face was filled with little freckles that went well with his button nose.

"I'm Scott," He introduced himself.

"Kate," I replied.

"You're one of the missing kids," I stated as I recognized his face from one of the signs.

"Yeah, and now so are you. Are you new to town or something?" He questioned.

"No, I'm from the Resistance." I replied.

He looked impressed for a second before a smirk made its way onto his face.

"Some resistance member you are," He mocked.

"Why are we here?" I asked, ignoring his rude statement, as I glanced around the empty room I was left in by whoever took me.

"The Pokemon brought us here," He said as he held out his hand to help me stand up.

"Pokemon?"

"Yeah, when Moondusk took over we were forced to release our Pokemon so that they wouldn't fall into Moondusk's hands. Instead of running back into the wilderness they took refuge here."

"So then, why are we here?"

"The Pokemon have protected us our whole lives. They think Moondusk will hurt us so they brought us here to protect us. The thing is they're only taking the kids and once they bring you here, they won't let you leave."

"Why won't they let anyone leave?" I questioned.

"Like I said, they think they're protecting us." He replied with a shrug.

It all made sense now, why the kids all started disappearing after Team Moondusk moved into town. If the Pokemon really thought they were doing the right thing by protecting the kids, an abandoned mansion would be the perfect place to keep them.

"Come on," Scott said as he led me out of the room into a long hallway and that's when I realized just how serious these Pokemon were.

There were kids running up and down the hallway. As we walked down the hall we made our way to a grand staircase that also had kids climbing up and down it. At the bottom of the stairs was what I guessed was the main enterance, and there were also children running around there too.

"There are a lot of younger kids so us older ones try to keep them in check as best as we can." He stated as he led me down the stairs.

"Scotty! A little curly haired girl cried as she ran up to Scott and jumped into his arms. I quickly recognized her from the missing persons poster I saw in town.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he wiped away some of the tears that were falling down her face.

"Randy called me ugly," She whimpered.

"Well Lucy, maybe he was just saying that because he didn't know how to tell you just how pretty you are." Scott stated with a smile.

"I am?" She questioned.

"Of course, right Kate?" He looked at me expectantly.

"Absolutely," I agreed with a smile of my own.

"Who is she?" Lucy asked.

"This is Kate," He introduced me.

"She's really pretty," She whispered to him.

He glanced over at me and smiled.

"I know," He replied with a whisper of his own.

I tried my best not to blush at his words since I knew he was just being nice, but I couldn't help but feel flattered anyway, it wasn't often I got compliments.

"I hope you'll like it here, Scotty is really nice." Lucy said with a smile.

"I've noticed," I replied as she jumped out of his arms and ran off.

"How many kids are here?" I inquired.

"Forty three, and only around ten of them are over the age of fifteen." He replied with a sigh.

I was completely speechless, this was madness. Why would these Pokemon think keeping a ton of kids here unsupervised was a good idea?

"So you haven't tried leaving?"

"Of course we have, but the Pokemon can be pretty strict about keeping us here."

"But I don't even see any Pokemon around, I bet I could leave right now!" I stated as I walked over to the front door.

"Don't!" Scott warned, but I opened it anyway.

Waiting outside was very large Electabuzz. It let out a growl of warning and I backed away from the door as it immediately slammed shut without warning. I let out a gasp as a Gengar appeared before me and shook his head, a clear indication that I shouldn't attempt such a thing again. He then floated off to the ceiling where he went through into the second floor.

"That Gengar is the leader of the Pokemon, he's the one giving the orders and he's the one keeping us here. Don't mess with him, he can be mean when he has to be." Scott warned as he walked over to me.

"He can't keep us here forever!" I exclaimed.

"I've been here for two months, I've tried every way of escaping. There is no way to get passed the Pokemon." He explained.

"But I have something you don't," I stated with a sly smile.

He gave me a questioning look and I pulled out a pokeball.

"I have a way to fight back. We're getting out of here." I stated and I could see a sense of hope make its way into Scott's eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope this chapter was worth waiting for, Kate just seems to find trouble everywhere she goes. I hope to have to next chapter up soon so in the mean time, leave a review to let me know what you think :)<strong>


	31. A Ghoulish Standoff!

**I was hoping to get this up sooner since I've been on break but I guess I got a little distracted by the freedom of having no school work. Sorry about that. Here's the next chapter for your reading pleasure, enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong><span>April's POV<span>**

"How could you let this happen?" Steven yelled at April once again as they stood near the building where Kate went missing.

"I thought it would be fine, I figured they would go after me, not her." She answered with a sigh.

"You shouldn't have tried something so reckless by yourselves!" He snapped.

"Don't blame her, it was my idea. She was totally against it."

The guilt was really starting to get to April. They had checked the roof and the surrounding area but couldn't find anything that would give any clues of where Kate was.

"So you didn't see anything?" Steven asked after he finally settled down.

"No, I just heard her scream and then she was just gone."

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu called them indicating he had found something.

They ran over to where Pikachu was to find Pokemon tracks leading into the brush nearby.

"That's weird," Steven stated.

"What?" April inquired.

"Think about it, what usually happens to the Pokemon when Team Moondusk moves into town?"

"They are usually taken or released."

"Exactly, so then why are there fresh Pokemon tracks here?"

"It would seem as though there are still Pokemon around."

"Let's follow them," Steven said as he made his way into the bushes with April following close behind.

* * *

><p><strong>Kate's POV<strong>

"Alright, so there's no way I'm going to be able to battle all of the Pokemon here by myself." I stated as I sat gathered around with all of the older kids.

"So then what are we going to do?" Scott questioned.

"We need back up," I replied.

"Don't you think we've tried, there aren't any phones here. No one has come out here looking for us." One kid stated impatiently.

"No, but I have a pokegear. Well, at least I did. All we have to do is get my pokegear back from the Pokemon and I can call for help."

"But I'm pretty sure it would be with Gengar, how are you going to get passed him?" Scott asked with a frown.

"I don't need to get passed him, you do." I told him with a smirk.

The plan was a simple one, I was going to distract Gengar while Scott grabbed my pokegear. That Gengar may have been smart enough to take away my way of communication but he made a bad choice when he left me with my Pokemon. I was going to give him a battle he wouldn't forget.

"You can't fight Gengar," A small voice protested.

We all turned to find Lucy standing in the doorway, anger apparent on her face.

"Don't worry, Kate is a really strong trainer so we'll be fine." Scott reassured her.

"No! You can't hurt him, he's only trying to help." She argued.

I gave Scott a questioning look. Why would Lucy care if we hurt the Gengar? He was keeping all of the kids here against their will.

"Gengar will beat you," She said to me with a glare as she stomped her way out of the room.

"That's weird, she's never acted like that before." Scott stated.

"We'll worry about it later, right now we need to get help." I stated and he nodded.

"So, you've been here longest. Where would Gengar keep a pokegear?" I asked him.

He paused to think for a minute before a smile made its way onto his face.

"The attic," He replied.

* * *

><p><strong>April's POV<strong>

They followed the tracks onto a dirt trail that led to a deserted part of town. Eventually the tracks disappeared, leaving no trace. April glanced around to find that the houses on this side of the town were huge. There were at least a dozen mansions on the street they were standing on, all of which had to have at least fifteen rooms.

"So, now what?" She questioned as she stared at the empty houses.

"We check every house," Steven answered as he started walking toward the first one.

"Seriously? That's going to take forever! We don't even know if she's here." She argued.

"But what if she is?" He countered.

April paused. He was right, even if there was only a slight chance that Kate was here she still had to search. Kate would have done the same for her.

"Alright, but why would Pokemon take Kate and the missing kids?"

"Who knows, but I intend to find out."

"Wait, what's that?" April asked as she pointed to the top window of one of the houses.

Steven followed where her finger was pointed. Standing in the window was a little girl with curly red hair. For a second it almost looked like she was glaring down at them, but in a blink of an eye she was gone and was replaced with an angry Gengar.

Pikachu let out a growl as he took off toward the house.

"Pikachu wait!" April called out, but he ignored her and soon disappeared around the building.

"I know that girl! She was on one of the missing kids posters!" April exclaimed.

"She had to have seen us, yet she almost looked angry." Steven stated.

"I'm sure that was a trick of the eye, it was probably that Gengar. Pikachu must have sensed that Kate is in the house let's go in and get them," She said as she started toward the house only to be stopped by Steven.

"We've been found out," He pointed toward a large group of Pokemon coming toward them.

"We have to retreat for now."

"But, Kate-" April wasn't allowed to finish her statement as Steven grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

"You need to learn to pick your battles," He told her as he dragged her behind him.

The two stopped to catch their breath once they made it back into town.

"Why were those Pokemon chasing us?" April asked in between breaths.

"I don't know, I didn't see any grunts from Moondusk so they must have been wild Pokemon." He replied, mostly thinking to himself.

April glanced up and spotted a poster with a familiar face.

"Hey that's her, that's the girl in the window." April stated as she pointed out the missing persons poster.

Steven walked over and ripped it off the poll it was tapped to.

"I think this is going to require some looking into." He said as he looked down at the picture of little red headed Lucy Robins, something just wasn't right about her.

They soon found themselves back at Charlie's house hoping to find some answers.

"What can you tell us about this girl?" Steven asked as he showed Charlie Lucy's poster.

"Ah, there's a sad story behind this one." He answered as he stared at the poster in thought.

"What do you mean?" April questioned.

"It was about a year ago that her father left to join The Resistance. Without any other family members she was left in the care of a family friend. Her father promised he'd only be gone for a few months and he made sure to stay in touch with Lucy. Then a few months ago he lost touch, some of his bodies in The Resistance were kind enough to inform us that he was captured by Team Moondusk. Lucy soon became upset that her father didn't keep his promise, and she's hated adults ever since. Poor kid."

"Do you know if Lucy ever hung around with a Gengar?" Steven asked thoughtfully.

"I don't know about a Gengar, but her father left a Haunter behind to watch over her." Charlie replied.

April and Steven shared a knowing look. It isn't hard to imagine Lucy's Haunter evolving into a Gengar. The only thing they couldn't figure out was what she was doing in that window.

"We need to get inside that building," Steven stated.

"I think I know how," April said with a sigh.

Steven stared at her long and hard, he knew exactly what she was thinking and as much as he didn't like the idea, he knew it was the only way.

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><p><strong>Kate's POV<strong>

I made my way to the front door with my pokeball ready in my hand. I needed to make sure I gave Scott enough time to search the attic and make a call to let Steven and April know where we were. That meant I had to battle any Pokemon I had to in order to get Gengar's attention. First challenge, Electabuzz.

I let out a breath as I grasped the door handle and pulled the door open to reveal an empty porch.

"Where is-?" My question was cut off as I heard a growl behind me.

I let out a yelp as a thunder punch made its way toward me. I quickly rolled out of the way and barley avoided the attack.

"How did it know?" I asked myself.

The Pokemon let out another growl as it charged up another thunder punch.

"Chikorita, razor leaf!" I called as I threw my pokeball into the air.

Chikorita appeared out of the flash and sent a flurry of leaves toward the unsuspecting Electabuzz hitting it straight on. The Pokemon let out an angry cry as it launched an electric attack which Chikorita was easily able to avoid.

_"I don't get it, where are the rest of the Pokemon?"_ I thought to myself as I looked around the empty room.

My question was answered as a Butterfree swooped in and knocked Chikorita off her feet. She let out a small grunt but jumped back up. Electabuzz took advantage of her distraction and nailed her with a thunder punch.

"Chikorita!" I cried out as she was thrown against a wall.

I was ready to pull out another pokeball when I heard Electabuzz charging another electric attack, this time aimed at me. I let out a gasp as the attack shot toward me.

"Pikaaaa chuuu!" With the familiar cry another surge of electricity was launched and blocked out the Electabuzz's attack.

I turned to the direction of the attack and a smile made its way onto my face.

"Pikachu! How did you find me?" I cried out as he ran over to me.

"Pi Pikachu," He answered with a wink.

"Let's kick butt, iron tail!" I called and he slammed his tail onto Electabuzz.

As the two Pokemon fought it out I turned my attention back to Chikorita who wasn't fairing as well as Pikachu. The Butterfree launched another take down and sent her flying.

"Come on Chikorita, you can do this!" I encouraged her.

She got back on her feet looking even more determined.

"Go use razor leaf!" I ordered and she sent a flurry of leafs at Butterfree but they were thrown back by Butterfree's gust attack.

"Vine whip!" Chikorita countered with a powerful vine whip that hit Butterfree and sent it flying into Electabuzz.

"Pikachu, finish them with thunder bolt!"

Pikachu's attack knocked out both Pokemon and I let out a sigh. I glanced around but found no sign of Gengar. The first time I opened that door he was there in an instant, but this time I had an entire battle and he didn't show his face. I thought about it and I realized it was as if that Electabuzz knew what I was up to. But then that meant that Gengar knew too. I looked back up the the stairs and found Gengar floating at the top looking incredibly pissed off and lying next to him out cold was Scott.

"Scott! What did you do to him?" I cried out.

I couldn't figure out how Gengar knew about my plan. It didn't make sense, we were careful to make sure they didn't know of our plans. The only way the Pokemon would have found out is if someone told them, but who would do that? I saw red hair in the corner of my eye and looked over to find Lucy at the top of the stairs hiding behind a plant with a glare on her face. The thing was, the glare wasn't aimed at Gengar, she was glaring at me.

Without warning Gengar launched a shadow ball my way which Pikachu managed to smack away with an iron tail. He let out a growl as he stood defensively in front of me. I felt my fists clench at my sides, it was Lucy. Why would she be helping the Pokemon? None of it made any sense, but I still had a job to do. The rest of the Pokemon were still missing in action which meant the only one standing in my way was that Gengar. I didn't care how powerful he was, I wasn't going to be held captive any longer.

"Pikachu thunder bolt!"

Pikachu's attack went straight toward Gengar but it stopped right before it hit him. The attack then changed directions and was thrown back at Pikachu.

"Pikaaaa!" He cried out as the attack hit him directly.

"Pikachu!" I gasped as I ran forward and caught him before he hit the ground.

"Pika pi," He apologized.

"You did your best," I assured him.

I looked back up but found Gengar was no longer at the top of the stairs. He then reappeared right in front of me with his eyes glowing. I suddenly felt tired which caused me to fall to the floor and into a deep sleep. Well that didn't go as planned.

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><p><strong>Poor Kate, things never seem to go her way. For those wondering when Brian's coming back don't worry, he'll turn up again soon. Until then leave a review! ;)<strong>


	32. Pikachu and Dusknoir team up!

**Wow, so I thought I had already posted this chapter, but I guess I never did. So, finally, here it is! And the next chapter is already written up so expect it soon!**

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><p>I groggily opened my eyes to find I was in some kind of small dark room. Glancing over to my right I found someone leaning against a wall across from me. I slowly sat up as I let my eyes adjust to the dark. The person shifted and I was able to tell it was Scott.<p>

"Glad you're finally awake, are you all right?" He asked as he pushed up off the wall to come sit by me.

"Yeah, where are we?" I questioned as I got a good look around the room to find there was no window, which explained why it was dark, but there was a small stream of light coming in from the crack under the door.

"I'm guessing some closet, Gengar must have thrown us in here."

I let out a sigh as I realized our situation. Our plan failed miserably. It would have worked out perfectly if there wasn't one thing that went wrong. Lucy.

"It was Lucy," I stated and Scott gave me a questioning look.

"She told the Pokemon about our plans, it all makes sense now."

"I don't get it, why would Lucy help them?" He asked me with skepticism in his voice.

"Think about it, she was mad when she heard about our plan, and then when Gengar showed up I saw her glaring at me. Lucy doesn't want us to leave." I explained.

"But why would Lucy want to be here?"

"I haven't figured that part out yet." I said with a sigh.

I felt around my belt for my pokeballs but found they were gone. I figured they would be smart enough to take them, but I was worried about what they did to them and Pikachu. I stood up from the floor and tested the door knob to find it was locked. I kicked the door in frustration.

"How long is he planning on keeping us in here?" I grunted as I kicked it again, but this time it flew open causing me to fall to the ground.

"Why are you locked in a closet?" A familiar voice asked.

"April?" I questioned as I looked up from the ground to find my best friend staring at me questioningly.

"What are you doing here?" I exclaimed as she pulled me to my feet.

"I came to find you. Why else would I let myself get captured by a pack of crazy Pokemon?" She answered with smile and a shrug.

"Does Steven know?"

"Of course, Steven helped."

"So Steven knows where we are?" I asked with hope.

"Yeah, and we have a plan!"

"Which involves?" Scott asked as he jumped into the conversation.

"Who are you?" April questioned.

"This is Scott, he's been helping me try to escape." I stated.

"Try to escape? Don't tell me you tried and that's how you ended up in the closet."

"We were double crossed, one of the kids here is working with the Pokemon." I sighed.

"I know, it's the little red head." April stated nonchalantly.

"How do you know about Lucy?" Scott asked.

April went on to tell us how she and Steven discovered the house and found Lucy in the window. She also told us about Lucy's dad and the Haunter he left her with.

"It all makes sense now," I said to Scott.

"Lucy hates adults because she thinks her father abandoned her." Scott said thoughtfully.

"She took advantage of the Pokemon being released by Team Moondusk." April added.

"After Haunter evolved all the other Pokemon were willing to follow it, and Gengar was willing to do anything Lucy asked because that's what her father asked him to do." I continued.

"So Lucy had the Pokemon bring all of the children from town to this house so they could live without adults." Scott sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"The Pokemon just went along with it because they thought they were protecting the kids." I finished.

"So what now?" Scott asked.

I looked over at April as an indication for her to let us in on her plan.

"Don't worry, Steven should be here any minute. Although I'm confused as to why there were no other kids around when I woke up. I thought they would all be here." She stated.

"She's right, where is everyone?" I thought aloud as I looked around noticing not a single trace of the many children that once scattered the halls.

"We moved them," A small voice answered.

We all turned around to find Lucy staring at us hatefully.

"We had to, you big kids were going to ruin everything!" She yelled.

"Lucy, you need to stop this." I warned.

"No you need to stop!" She shouted back.

"I liked you, but you just wanted to take away my family. You turned Scotty against me."

"Lucy, I'm not against you, but you have to understand that this is wrong. You can't keep us here." Scott tried to reason.

"Yes I can! I can do whatever I want because Gengar does whatever I tell him!" She countered.

"That's some pretty good reasoning." April whispered to me and I gave her a look saying now wasn't the time.

"So you're just going to keep all of those kids from their families?" I asked Lucy and she looked over at me with a glare.

"How do you think those other kids feel about being locked in some strange house?" I pressed.

"It don't care! I do what I want!" She screeched as her Gengar made an appearance next to her.

"Wow, what a sweet kid." I heard a familiar voice joke from the foot of the stairs.

"Steven!" April and I shouted with relief.

"Found these by the front door," He yelled up to me as he tossed up my belt holding my pokeballs.

"Thanks!" I exclaimed as I reattached it to my waist.

"Gengar, stop them!" Lucy pouted.

At the command Gengar charged up a shadow ball and launched it our way. April and I quickly moved but Scott was frozen in place.

"Move it!" I called out as I tackled him out of the way.

Gengar let out a growl as he charged up another shadow ball.

"This is getting out of hand, Dusknoir go!" Steven called as he threw a pokeball in the air.

A very powerful looking Dusknoir was released from the ball and it floated protectively in front of us as the attack was launched. Dusknoir threw his fist forward and smacked the attack back at Gengar, but he moved out of the way. Gengar glared at his opponent and I took that as an indication we needed to move. I extended my hand to Scott to help him up and he gratefully took it.

"Thanks," He muttered as I helped him stand.

"No problem," I said with a smile as I lead him away from the Pokemon.

We all made our way over to Steven, who seemed to be calculating Gengar.

"What happened to the rest of the Pokemon?" I asked him.

"I took care of them already," He replied.

"All of them?" I exclaimed.

A small smirk made its way onto his face.

"You don't think I'm a top member for nothing, do you?" He joked.

"Show off," April laughed as she rolled her eyes.

"I think it's time we put a stop to all of this." I said and Steven nodded.

"It's time for a rematch, Pikachu!" I threw his pokeball in the air and he came out in a flash of light.

"Pika," He purred as he shook out his fur, looking glad to be out of his ball.

"Dusknoir, use shadow punch!" Steven commanded.

Dusknoir launched his attack, but Gengar was much quicker and easily evaded the attack.

"Pikachu, thunder bolt!"

Pikachu used the attack, but Gengar saw it coming and used confusion, which sent the attack back at Pikachu. He wasn't going to get us with the same trick twice.

"Iron tail!" Pikachu jumped up and used his iron tail to deflect the attack.

Gengar looked irritated and took to the shadows where it disappeared.

"Where did he go?" April gasped from behind me.

We all searched the shadows, but to no avail. Without warning Gengar emerged from the shadows and hit Dusknoir directly with a powerful shadow punch. Dusknoir took some serious damage from the super effective attack and Gengar took advantage of the element of surprise and used another shadow punch that sent him falling to the ground. With a mischievous laugh, Gengar flew back into the shadows. We all frantically searched the shadows as Dusknoir tried to get back up.

I knew there was no way to hit him if he kept hiding in the shadows, and at the rate we were going, we were going to lose the battle. It was then that I thought up a plan.

"He can't hide if there aren't any shadows to hide in," I stated and looked down at Pikachu. A wicked smile made its way onto his face and he nodded his head in understanding and used his electricity to light up the room.

With the shadows gone Gengar reappeared shielding his eyes from the bright light. Now it was our turn for a surprise attack.

"Go Pikachu, hit him with your thunderbolt!"

"Pika!" He called out as he jumped up and sent the shocking attack the vulnerable Gengar.

With a cry of pain Gengar fell to the ground completely paralyzed by Pikachu's static.

"Dusknoir, finish this with shadow punch!" Steven called out to his Pokemon.

With one final attack Gengar was knocked out cold and we all let out a cheer. Well, everyone except one little girl.

"Why do you adults have to ruin everything?" Lucy cried.

We all turned in her direction to find her sitting on the floor with her head buried in her hands. The glare I had on my face only moments before, turned into a frown as I walked over to her. Sure what she did was wrong, but Lucy only did all of those things because she was alone and scared.

"It's time to let those kids go home," I told her as I bent down next to her.

"Why should they get to go home to their families when I can't?" She asked as she looked up to me with tears streaming down her face.

Without another word I pulled her into my arms and she clutched onto my shirt as the tears cascaded down her cheeks onto my clothes. As I sat there with that crying girl in my arms I wanted nothing more than to make her happy again, and I knew there was only one way to do that.

"I'm going to bring your dad back to you." I said over her shoulder.

Steven gave me a warning look that was probably saying "Don't say something you don't mean." But I did mean it, I was going to make it happen.

"I promise," I told her as I narrowed my eyes at him.

Lucy led us to where they had moved all of the kids, and we were able to bring them back to their families. I had never seen so many happy faces in one place as we stood there watching the children be reunited with their parents.

"So you'll take care of her until we get back?" I asked Scott.

"I'll make sure she stays out of trouble," He answered with a nod.

"What happened to Team Moondusk?" April questioned.

I looked around and remembered that the grunts were in fact missing. I felt my heart rate pick up as I realized they could be planning something.

"Relax, I took care of them." Steven replied.

"All of them? By yourself?" We all asked with wide eyes.

"What can I say, I'm good at what I do. Besides, there weren't many here." He said with a shrug. I had completely underestimated Steven's strength. Part of me questioned if he outranked Brian.

With all the children safely returned to their homes and the Pokemon back where they belonged, we all decided to head back to base.

"Why would you make that promise to Lucy?" Steven asked as we walked.

"Because I meant it. I'm going to bring her dad back." I replied.

"How are you planning on doing that? You don't even know where Team Moondusk keeps prisoners."

"No, but I'm sure you do." I stated as I looked over at him expectantly.

"Well I'm not going to tell you," he replied firmly.

"Why not?"

"Because it's impossible, no one has ever attempted to break in there. It's too well guarded."

"Well how do you know it's impossible, if no one has ever tried?" I questioned with a mischievous smile.

He paused as he didn't know what to say.

We made it back to base and gave Cal all the details, and he was happy with them.

"I see you've come a long way since that first day Kate." He told me proudly and I replied with a smile.

I waited until Steven left the room to ask Cal about where Moondusk takes their prisoners.

"Well Moondusk doesn't usually take prisoners, unless they think they might get some kind of information out of them, but there is a hidden place in the mountains by Snowpoint City in the Sinnoh region. That's where they keep all prisoners they find threatening. Why do you want to know?" He asked.

"No reason," I muttered.

"I hope you're not planning on going there," He warned.

"Of course not, I was just curious." I said as I made my way to my room.

When I opened the door I was surprised to find April and Caleb sitting on my bed.

"You're going, aren't you?" She asked.

"I have to bring that girl her father back, and every other person in that place that has someone waiting for them to come home." I replied.

"So you're planning a prison break?" Caleb questioned.

"How do you know about it?"

"April told me," He said simply.

"I was hoping he'd help talk you out of it," She said when I glared at her.

"Yeah, but instead I want to go with you." He stated with a smirk.

"Really?" I asked with skepticism.

"Of course, I'm sick of going on boring jobs and missions. It's about time we do something exciting, especially when it involves breaking rules."

"I guess that means I'm in," April said with a sigh.

"Alright then, it looks like we're off to the Sinnoh region." I stated.

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><p><strong>As a spoiler for next chapter, Brian will be making an appearance for those who have missed him! So stay tuned, and in the meantime leave a review! :D<strong>


	33. Prison in the snow!

**And here's the next chapter in record time! Enjoy!**

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><p>We weren't able to leave for another week. Steven kept a close eye on me as if he suspected I was planning something. Which I totally was. We eventually managed to sneak out without being caught by Steven or Cal in the middle of the night. That was the easy part. We were then forced to endure an agonizingly long ride on Caleb's Pidgeot. We made a few stops along the way, one of which was in Hoen. This was particularly exciting for Pikachu and me since we had never been there, and we wanted to explore. Caleb was more than happy to show us around his home region, but April reminded us that we were on a mission. Soon after that we made it to the Sinnoh region and landed in the mountains. It had taken us all night to get there and I could tell Pidgeot was exhausted from carrying so many people such a long way.<p>

"So, where do we go from here?" April questioned as we looked around.

It was winter which meant the mountain was covered in snow so deep that Pikachu fell through as soon as he landed on the ground. Caleb pulled him out and I shivered as I pulled up my map on my pokegear and looked over our location.

"Well Snowpoint City is about a mile that way," I said as I pointed in the right direction.

"Yeah, but they wouldn't put the prison right next to a city. It's out here in the wilderness somewhere." Caleb added.

"Thank you Captain Obvious." April muttered, which received her a glare from Caleb.

"Alright, bickering won't solve anything," I sighed as I rolled my eyes.

"Pika," Pikachu pointed to the south.

"How do you know?" April asked skeptically.

His ear twitched as he looked at her in a way that said "Are you really asking that?"

"Oh right, super big ears means better hearing. Got it." She muttered.

We followed where Pikachu pointed up a large slope, and when we made it to the top we were shocked by what we saw. At the bottom of the slope there was a large building that looked exactly like a prison. It was surrounded by extremely tall concrete walls with barbed wires decorating the top. Inside there were many prisoners dressed in dark blue jumpsuits shoveling snow. It was easy to see the clothes they wore weren't keeping them warm and they looked undernourished. Most of them were having trouble holding their shovels while others were hardly able to stand. One man fell to the ground from exhaustion and was brutally kicked by a guard who yelled at him to stand. We saw a guard look our way from on top of a guard tower and quickly hid behind some brush.

"This is terrible," I muttered.

I had no idea that the prison would be so bad. It made sense to keep them locked up in the middle of no where, but to have no consideration for their lives was another thing. I knew Damon was cold, but I never pegged him as a murderer.

"I had no idea it was this bad," Caleb whispered over to us.

"Well now that you've seen it, it's time to go back," a familiar voice stated harshly.

We all looked up to find Steven standing in front of us. I figured he would come after us, but I didn't think he would have caught up so soon.

"You can't be serious. After seeing this, I'm even more determined to set them free." I asserted.

"And just how are you planning on doing that?" Yet another familiar voice asked in a sarcastic tone.

I knew that voice rather well and my heart swelled as Brian made his way into my view, with a not so happy look on his face. He stood there staring at me with his hands stuffed in his pockets and I stared at him in awe as if I hadn't seen him in years. He didn't look any different, except there was a tiredness to his eyes as if he hadn't slept much in the time he'd been away. A gust of wind blew through his hair revealing a scratch on his forehead. I wondered what exactly he had been up to in Sinnoh all this time. Perhaps it was worse here than I thought if someone had managed to put a scratch on him.

"W-what are you doing here?" I finally managed to gasp out.

"Well I leave for a minute and I get a call that you're off doing something stupid." He said as he rolled his eyes.

Any thought of concern I had before was thrown out the window by his rude remark. I wasn't really sure where we stood on the grounds of our relationship, but I was sure that after he confessed he liked me he would treat me a little nicer. I was instantly irritated by his very presence.

"Why'd you call him?" I yelled at Steven.

"I figured I wouldn't be able to drag you back, but there was one person who could." Steven said with a huff.

"You think I'm afraid of Brian?" I scoffed.

"Aren't you?" Brian asked in a coy voice as he stepped closer to me causing a blush to make it's way onto my face as I thought of the last time he was that close to me. Stupid hormones.

"No, I'm not." I challenged.

He narrowed his eyes and I copied his expression. Steven could bring whoever he wanted to try and drag me back, but I wasn't leaving without saving those people.

"What are you doing here Kate?" He asked me.

"What does it look like I'm doing here Brian?" I replied.

"Something that is way out of your league and is going to get you killed." There he goes underestimating me again.

"I wouldn't let that happen," Caleb butted in.

Brian's glare immediately flickered to Caleb and he froze instantly.

"You're supposed to be looking out for her, not helping her do something stupid." Brian spat. Looking out for me? Since when is Caleb my bodyguard? I guess I wouldn't have put it passed Brian to tell Caleb to make sure I stayed out of trouble.

"I'm helping her do what's right." He retorted.

"Guys, we really shouldn't be doing this here." April stated nervously as she looked through the brush back at the prison.

"You're right, go back to Kanto." Brian commanded.

"No," We all replied firmly.

This caused both Steven and Brian to glare at us.

"There are people suffering down there, and I'm not going to just do nothing. I can't." I stated as I stared into his eyes.

Brian's jaw clenched as he glanced back over to the prison. I could tell he was having an internal battle and I just hoped he would show the compassion I knew he had in him. He finally looked back over at me with a sigh.

"You do everything I say, and don't do anything stupid. Got it?" He eventually said. So I did have an effect on him, I smirked a little on the inside.

"Brian..." Steven warned.

"There's no stopping her when she's this determined. Might as well make sure she doesn't get herself killed." Brian argued.

Steven looked extremely unhappy as he too eventually sighed with defeat.

"We are going to be in so much trouble." He muttered.

It was then we heard a twig snap in the bushes to our left. My eyes widened in fear of being discovered. Pikachu immediately sensed my discomfort and launched an electric attack toward the area where we heard the noise.

"Watch it!" A guy exclaimed as he made his way out of the bushes.

He looked over at us with a surprised expression as if he barely made it out with his life. He was very good looking with an aristocratic looking face. His brown hair was short and flipped up in the front. He looked around at us with his deep brown eyes and his face lit up revealing a dazzling smile.

"Well if it isn't Steven Clark, Caleb Knight, Kate Leaf, and April Stone. You're looking as lovely as ever." He said that last part as he walked over to April and kissed the top of her hand which she immediately snatched away.

"Oliver," She said with annoyance as she pulled her hand away.

"I thought I told you not to follow me," Brian stated as he walked over to Oliver.

"Then it's a good thing I didn't. I waited until you left and then hacked the main pokegear GPS to locate you. It was easy." He said with a grin.

"You hacked The Resistance? How did you know my name? Who are you?" I asked in amazement.

"I wouldn't put it passed Brian to never bring me up. I'm Oliver Kent, also known as the best friend of Brian Dean." He said with a bow.

"You have a best friend?" I asked Brian skeptically.

Brian rolled his eyes as Oliver let out a laugh.

"Hey, you're funny and cute. She's a keeper dude." Oliver said with a chuckle as Brian glared at him while a blush made it's way on my face.

"Oliver and Brian have been friends for years. Brian has the looks, skills, and strength. Oliver just has a big annoying brain." April said.

"Ouch," Oliver muttered.

"This kid can hack into anything. He has a photographic memory and can memorize your face and any detail about you after only learning it once. He also has a decent team of Pokemon, making him a valued top member." Steven clarified.

"Well that's intimidating." I stated with wide eyes.

"Nah, not really. I'm just a normal guy." He stated as he leaned in closer to me with a flirtatious grin.

"Okay normal guy, leave." Brian ordered in an annoyed voice as he shoved his friend away from me back where he came from.

"Why? Are you doing something bad?" He asked as he turned back around ignoring his friend's command with an excited expression apparent on his face.

"Yes," Steven muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"Sweet! I want in!"

"NO!" Brian and April shouted at him.

"If he's as smart as you say he is, won't he be useful?" Caleb finally chimed in.

We all stared at Oliver as we thought about it. He would be incredibly useful. I looked over at Brian as he sighed and rolled his eyes, which meant yes. Oliver let out a whoop and we shushed him as he remembered we were right next to a dangerous prison.

"Now, we need a plan." Brian said as he pulled up a map of the area on his pokegear.

"First of all, we need a group outside as a distraction. Steven and Knight can handle that." Brian stated and I realized he used Caleb's last name. Those two really needed to work out their issues.

"Of course you'd stick me with the dirty work." Caleb said with a glare.

"You have a problem with my decision?" Brian asked sounding irritated.

"Actually," He started but I stepped on his foot to shut him up.

"Okay you hate each other, we get it." I said as I made a point to glare at each.

They both glared at each other before looking away defiantly.

"Please continue," April urged.

"So, the rest of us will go through this cave here." He explained as he showed us on his map.

"According to sources, there's a way inside through there. Once we're inside we'll split up. April and Oliver will head over to the control room and kill the power. Kate and I will make our way to where the prisoners are and escort them out." He looked over at all of use to make sure we understood.

"The most important thing here is stealth. We can't let ourselves be discovered until Oliver kills the power. We don't need my brother finding out we're here or we're toast." He finished.

He was right, stealth was extremely important. If Damon found out we were here, he would send my brother after us, and perhaps even show up himself. I knew Brian feared both of them and with good reason. I didn't even know if Steven was as good as Brian, let alone a match for my brother. It all came down to Oliver cutting the power. I just hoped his big brain could get it done quickly.

We left Caleb and Steven in the brush and we made our way down to the cave Brian told us about. We quietly made our way inside and quickly ducked behind some rocks. The cave had at five grunts walking around. I knew the place was well guarded, but why go through all the effort of having so many guards in a cave? Something seemed a little off.

I looked over at Brian to find him looking around the cave deep in thought. He was always quick to form a plan and he had one in less than a minute.

"Here's what we're going to do. Oliver and April, make your way to the back of the cave, but stay behind the rocks. Kate and I will handle the guards. You guys need to get inside and kill the power." Brian explained.

They both nodded as Oliver grabbed April's arm and led her on a path hidden in the rocks. I looked over to Brian as he pulled out a pokeball. I looked over to Pikachu on my shoulder and he nodded as an indication that he too was ready. Brian released his Pokemon and I was shocked to see it was one I had yet to meet. A Luxray appeared from the ball and looked at Brian expectantly.

"When did you get a Luxray?" I questioned in a whisper.

"I've had one. He stayed with Oliver in Sinnoh when I left." He replied.

"Why?"

"Does it matter?"

"..." He had a point.

"What do you say we bring a nice spark to their day?" Brian hummed as he glanced over the rocks at the many grunts walking around.

"I think that would be a mighty fine idea." I agreed with a mischievous grin.

With a nod we jumped over the rocks with our Pokemon.

"Thunder wave!" We called out in unison.

The grunts didn't see it coming and were all paralyzed on the spot.

"So, why were there five grunts guarding a cave? I understand guarding the door, but it's a hidden door anyway. I can't see why it would need much guarding." I wondered aloud.

"Because they weren't just guarding the door." Brian stated as he made his way over to a large blue stone that was sticking out of the ground.

He looked it up and down as he ran his hand over it. I didn't really see what was so special about it. Although perhaps it could be worth some money, but if that were the case, why keep it here of all places? Before I got a chance to ask, Pikachu's ears perked up. I didn't have time to react before large arms wrapped around me causing me to let out a surprised yelp.

Brian immediately turned around to see why I made the noise and it was the perfect distraction for another grunt to tackle him from behind. I let out an annoyed growl as I bit down on my captors arm. I then turned around to face him and kicked him in the knee sending him down to the ground in pain where I hit a pressure point in his neck that knocked him out. I had to remember to thank Brian for teaching me that one. I glanced over to find that Pikachu was now battling it out with an Arbok.

I looked back over to Brian to find he had easily taken out the grunt who tackled him and was now fighting another. Where did they all come from? I didn't have much time to wonder as another two grunts came after me. I attempted to grab a pokeball, but they reached me before I could. I managed to duck under the first grunts arms, but ended up running straight into the second one. He grabbed my arm and threw me into Brian who had just taken out the other guy. We hit the ground with an "oof" and our belts smacked into each other, sending our pokeballs to the ground.

"Oh great, which ones are mine?" I questioned. Brian also looked confused as he stared at the pokeballs on the ground.

"Doesn't matter, pick one." He stated as he grabbed a ball off the ground.

I followed his lead and grabbed a random ball hoping it was a useful one. A grunt sent out a Cacturne which shot a pin missile at us. We both managed to jump out of the way, but were no longer near our pokeballs. Brian threw the ball in his hand into the air and I copied his action. From the ball Brian threw came my Sandslash, who looked a little confused when he looked back and saw Brian was the one that sent him out. From my ball came out my little Eevee, and I couldn't help but sigh.

I didn't have time to try for a different ball, as another grunt sent out a Golbat to help out Cacturne. The Golbat went straight for Brian, but I knew he could handle Sandslash well. I was a little worried when the Cacturne went straight for Eevee, who has never had a real battle. I just hoped she'd gotten over her hatred for me, or I'd be done for.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay Brian's back! And I was able to bring in one of my favorite characters! Oliver probably won't make a ton of appearances, but he's a fun guy to add in, since he's so easy going. Anywho let me know what you think of him and leave a review :)<strong>


	34. Ice Ice Baby!

"Eevee, use shadow ball!" I called out to my Pokemon. She looked back at me defiantly and refused my command.

The Cacturne took advantage of her rebellion and went after her with a needle arm attack. I didn't stop to think as I rushed over and grabbed her in my arms as I rolled away from the attack.

"Hate me all you want, but that's no reason to leave yourself open to an attack. You could get hurt." I scolded her.

She stared up at me as I held her protectively against my chest.

"Despite how much you don't like me, I still care about you." I told her with a smile.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu called over to me. I looked up to find the Cacturne was coming after me.

I let out a gasp of surprise as he shot another pin missile my way. Before the attack could hit, Eevee managed to knock it away with a shadow ball. I looked down at her in surprise, and she responded by hitting me in the face with her tail.

"I'm not sure if you were protecting me, or just looking out for yourself." I said to her as she gave me a mischievous smile.

Without warning the few lights that lined the walls of the cave went out, leaving us darkness except for one light source that came from the large blue stone a few feet away from me.

"Took him long enough." Brian muttered somewhere to the right, but because of the dim lighting I couldn't identify which shadow was him.

"Those brats killed the power!" Some grunts yelled beyond the door that led inside the prison.

"I think it's time we moved inside!" I yelled over to Brian as Pikachu managed to light up the cave.

"Good idea," He replied as he ordered Sandslash to deliver the final blow on his opponent as Brian ran after our scattered pokeballs.

While I was distracted, the Cacturne managed to hit Eevee with a needle arm, causing her to smack into the large blue stone. Then before my eyes, she started glowing and changing shape. Everyone in the room stood amazed as my Eevee evolved into a Glaceon.

"I can honestly say, I did not see that coming." Brian stated as he stared at my new Pokemon.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed.

I was also pretty shocked as Glaceon looked herself over. She was absolutely beautiful. Her new fur coat was a gorgeous light blue that was shining so much, it almost looked like it was made of ice. Without waiting for me to come back to reality, Glaceon decided to try out her new self. She charged toward the unsuspecting Cacturne and shot an ice shard at it. The Pokemon didn't have time to react as the super effective attack hit him and sent him to the ground.

"She's so perfect!" I squealed as I ran over to Glaceon and picked her up in my arms.

She glared at me before smacking me in the forehead with her paw and landing gracefully back on the ground.

"And still no respect," Brian said in an amused voice.

"Shut up," I muttered in response.

Pikachu used his thunder wave to paralyze the remaining grunts in the cave. We figured we didn't have time to sort out which pokeballs were mine and which ones were Brian's, so we just split them up and hoped for the best. We stole some of the grunt's uniforms and made our way into the prison. Without the lights on, there was no way anyone could tell we didn't belong, even with Pikachu, Glaceon, Sandslash, and Luxray following us. I let Brian lead the way and before we knew it, we found the cells. There were a few grunts standing guard, but with all the chaos going on outside, they seemed extremely confused.

"What are you still doing in here? Boss said to go out and help with the situation." Brian said to the grunts.

"But we weren't told of this." One grunt protested.

"Alright, but I bet the Boss won't be happy when he hears you disobeyed an order." He replied.

The grunts all looked at each other in fear before running out of the room.

"Idiots," Brian sighed as he rolled his eyes.

I quickly made my way over to the closest cell as I tried to find a way to open it. I should have figured we'd need a key. I looked behind the bars at the scared faces of the men trapped in the cell.

"Don't worry, we're going to get you out of here." I assured them, and I could see relief flood over them.

"Move," Brian muttered as he pushed me aside to inspect the lock.

"So what are you going to do?" I asked sarcastically. "Pick the lock?"

But of course, he picked the lock. Was there anything this boy COULDN'T do? He looked back at me with a smug smirk, that I had to admit, would have been really hot if it wasn't so annoying.

"Well are you going to open the rest, Mr. Smart Guy?" I asked as I rolled my eyes.

He let out a small chuckle as he made his way over to the next cell. I looked around the large room and saw many more cells, and another floor of them up a set of stairs. There was no way Brian could unlock them all quick enough.

"Sandslash, time to show me just how sharp those claws of yours are." I said to my Pokemon.

He nodded as he ran over to a cage and managed to slice the bars in two. This prison wasn't really well built. Even with Sandslash helping, the opening of the cells was going slow. I reached down to one of the pokeballs attached to my belt and I prayed that it was anything but Charizard. To my relief, and much to my delight, my Arcanine emerged from the ball.

"You are just the Pokemon I needed." I told him as he looked over at me.

I had Arcanine start melting the bars, and with everyone's help, all of the prisoners were soon out of their cells.

"Now to blow this Popsicle stand!" I exclaimed.

As the words left my mouth, a large Rampardos crashed through the wall. We looked over to find the Pokemon struggle to stand as Oliver and April ran through the large hole in the wall followed by a Ludicolo and an angry looking man. His uniform was different than that of a grunt so I figured he was probably the man in charge.

"I tried to hold him off as long as I could," Oliver explained as he knelt down to his injured Pokemon.

"It's okay, you did your best. I'll take over from here." Brian stated as he glared at the angry leader.

"You kids, think you can break into MY prison and free MY prisoners?" He asked in a gruff voice.

"Get everyone out," Brian whispered over to me as his Luxray walked over to stand defensively in front of us.

I nodded as I motioned for the prisoners to follow me. The Ludicolo made a move to stop us, but paused when Luxray shot a warning attack.

"Arcanine, we need a way out." I said to my Pokemon.

He nodded and used a flame wheel to break through the back wall, making a nice exit to the outside.

"Everybody out!" I exclaimed.

With that the leader ordered an attack from his Ludicolo and started an intense battle with Brian. I didn't pause to see how he was doing as I helped lead the prisoners through the hole with April and Oliver right behind me. When we made it outside it looked like we were in the middle of a war zone. There were grunts everywhere. Some were running back toward the prison in fear, while others seemed to be engaged in an intense battle with all of Steven and Caleb's Pokemon.

"What the...?" April gasped as the ground shook below us.

"Geez, what the hell are those two doing? Are they trying to drown us all?" Oliver sighed.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"This prison was built on a frozen lake. If there's too much force the ice could break and send us all into the freezing water." He explained.

"The prisoners are escaping!" A man yelled from somewhere to my right.

"Crap," Oliver muttered as he pulled out a pokeball.

"To the forest!" I yelled to the prisoners.

The large group started to make their way to the forest as soon as the words left my mouth. As they started running, an ice beam made its way toward them. Luckily Arcanine thought fast and easily melted the attack with one of his own.

"April, lead them out of here. We'll back you up as best we can." I told my friend and with a nod she ran off with them.

"Let's see if you're as good as Brian says you are." Oliver said to me with a grin.

A smirk made its way onto my face as my Pokemon surrounded me. We quickly jumped into the battle along with Steven and Caleb. They both had all of their Pokemon out engaged in battles, but it was easy to see that there were just too many grunts for them to handle. To my left, I saw Caleb's Blaziken struggling against a water type, and sent Pikachu to his aid. On my right, an Ursaring charged its way toward me, but was stopped short by Arcanine. Sandslash noticed some grunts make their way toward April and the group trying to escape, and used his roll out to stop the attack.

That left me with only Glaceon by my side. I could tell she still had a lack of respect for me, but there was a look in her eyes that said she was willing to follow my orders. With a nod of my head we went after the closest grunt. Lucky for us the grunt's Pokemon was a Gloom, and with Glaceon's ice attacks, we took her down easy. I looked over to Oliver to see him give me a grin, which I assumed meant I didn't disappoint him. I looked out over the chaos before me to find that April and the ground had made it safely to the forest. A smile made its way onto my face at the thought of actually pulling this off, but my celebration was cut short when the ground started shaking. I looked over to find the source and was shocked to see that it was coming from a Rhydon that belonged to none other than the man in charge. Brian and Luxray stood a few feet away staring at him in disbelief. It looked like his Ludicolo lost and the guy went crazy.

"I'll go to Hell before I let you all get away." He yelled with a crazed look on his face.

The Rhydon stomped its powerful feet against the ice, causing it to shake.

"Get off the lake!" A grunt cried out in fear, causing everyone to run toward the forest in a frenzied panic.

I quickly returned my Pokemon and Pikachu jumped up onto my shoulder. I looked around at the people running passed me and found Oliver, Steven and Caleb had managed to make it off the ice. But where was Brian? I continued my search as I failed to locate him in the chaos.

"Run you idiot," his familiar voice bit out as I felt a firm hand grab my wrist and drag me.

As soon as I realized it was Brian, I started running and managed to keep up with his pace. From behind us I heard a deafening crack and we both turned around to see a large crack make its way from the Rhydon, down the middle of the entire lake, and right in between Brian and me. I looked over to him in panic as soon as the ice separated between us, forcing him to let go of my arm as a large gap formed between us. The shaking of the ground caused me to jerk forward sending Pikachu flying off my shoulder, but before he fell into the large gap in the ice, and into the freezing water, he was easily caught by Brian.

"Move," Brian yelled to me as he took off toward land with Pikachu in his arms as the ice continued to shatter.

I followed his lead and ran as fast as my legs could carry me. Unfortunately for me, it wasn't fast enough. The crack in the ice branched out, and soon caught me in a circle. My weight proved to be too much, and without warning the ice caved beneath me, sending me falling into the icy cold water below. I let out a gasp of surprise from the sudden temperature change, which caused water to start flooding into my lungs. I struggled to breath as the water pulled me under and the cold swallowed me up. The burning in my lungs was too much and I felt myself going numb as I struggled to find the surface.

* * *

><p>I had never imagined how I would die, but I never thought that it would be from drowning. Or maybe I was just taken by the cold. Either way, as soon as I found myself in total darkness, I knew I absolutely had to be dead. How else could I explain the strange light that I was seeing. I reached out to touch it, but it quickly flew out of my grasp. I let out a huff as I tried again, only to once again miss. As if teasing me, the light flew circles around my head, before it flew forward, beckoning me to follow. Well, I was dead, so it wasn't like I had anything better to do than to follow the light. So, I chased after it toward an even greater light that seemed to swallow me up. I ended up in a small garden with nothing but a tree in the center. However, it wasn't the tree that caught my attention, but the figure sitting in the shade under the tree. I walked forward until I was close enough to make out its shape.<p>

"Y-you're Darkrai," I managed to choke out.

The legendary Pokemon looked over at me with a nod.

"Am I dead?" I asked with fear.

This time, I was replied with a shake of his head.

No? So if I'm not dead, then where the heck was I?

Darkrai made a motion with his hands and closed his eyes as if mimicking someone sleeping.

"I'm asleep," I stated. He responded with a nod.

"You can control my dreams?" I asked and I received another nod.

"Why?" I questioned.

He stared at me hard and an image flashed in my head of Damon.

"To help Damon?" I asked unsure. He shook his head.

"To tell me something about Damon?" I tried again. Another image came into my mind of when I had the dream of Damon kidnapping me.

"To warn me?" I asked after a minute of thinking. A flash came across his eyes indicating I was spot on.

"You've been using dreams to warn me about Damon!" I exclaimed and he nodded.

It made sense then, those strange nightmares I had that were coming true, were from Darkrai.

"But why?" I asked. He glared at me as if it was obvious.

"The stone, he's going to use it to control everything, you included." I concluded.

"How do I stop him?" I questioned.

Darkrai picked up a rock and held it in his hand. He looked me straight in the eyes and crushed it to dust. I had to break the stone, that was the only way.

"Will it free Damon?" I asked.

A look came into his eyes that I couldn't place, but something told me it wasn't good.

I felt a sudden pain in my chest and I clutched my shirt as I let out a gasp. What was that? The area around me started to fade as I was suddenly aware of how cold I was.

"...Kate..." A far away voice called out.

I looked over to Darkrai as he started to fade away.

"Wait, I still have a lot of questions!" I yelled out.

"...Kate!" The voice called again, but louder this time. I felt a force on my lips, and I traced the tingling sensation with my fingers.

"Breathe dammit!" The voice screeched as if it was right next to me. I let out a gasp as I was swallowed by darkness.

* * *

><p>My lungs burnt as water was coughed up out of them. I gasped for breath as more liquid made its way out of my air ways. I couldn't open my eyes as I concentrated on trying to breathe, but I was aware of an arm being wrapped around me.<p>

"That's it, let it out. Just breathe, you're okay now." Brian soothed as he wiped my wet hair off of my face.

"You're okay." He sounded panicked, and I caught a crack in his voice as he repeated the words to me.

I opened my eyes to find I was now on land and was surrounded by my friends, and some strangers. I also became aware of the fact that I was in Brian's arms and we were both soaking wet and sitting in snow. I didn't realized just how cold I was until I noticed Brian's blue lips and the fact that he was shivering. He jumped in the water to save me. He could have died. Heck, he could still die if he didn't get out of the cold.

I tried to tell him that, but I found I couldn't speak and all that came out was a choke that sent me into another coughing fit. His arms around me tightened as he tried to help me breath normally again.

"We need to get you out of this cold." Oliver stated as he took off his jacket and wrapped it around me.

"Y-you th-think?" Brian managed to spit out in irritation as his teeth chattered from the cold.

"Man, you're grumpy when you're cold." Oliver said with a frown.

"Sh-shut u-up." Brian warned with an intimidating glare.

"I know of a cabin near here. We can go there." Steven stated as he took me from Brian's arms and started carrying me bridal style, despite Brian's protests.

With the help of Caleb and Oliver, Brian stood up and followed behind us. My only hope was that we made it to the cabin before we froze to death.

* * *

><p><strong>Well I hope this chapter was worth waiting for. Sorry for taking so long to update! Next chapter is in the works, so leave a review! :D<strong>


	35. The evil eight!

By the time we made it to the cabin Brian and I were frozen to the bone. As soon as we made it inside, April lead me into a room and helped me peel off my soaking clothes. Normally I'd undress myself, but my fingers were so numb I wasn't sure I could. After I was out of the clothes, and in nothing but my bra and underwear, April threw a large blanket over me.

"There's a fireplace in the main room. We'll sit you in front of that." She said as she dragged me out of the room.

I pulled the blanket around me tight, feeling incredibly self conscious. Even if no one could see anything, I was still half under that blanket after all. However, the room was empty when we walked out, with the exception of Pikachu waiting for me. Where is everyone?

"Everyone is outside. Back up came in around the time you fell into the water. They've been transporting prisoners out of here as fast as they can, I'm sure Damon knows we broke in by now." She said answering my question.

"I'm going to go see how things are doing. Are you okay here?" She asked as I sat down in front of the fire.

"Yeah," I whispered, my throat still sore. With that she waltzed out the door as Pikachu climbed onto my lap to add some extra heat. He looked up at me to make sure I was doing okay, and I leaned down and kissed the top of his head. He let out a happy "Pika!" as he curled up against me.

"Mind if I sit?" Brian's voice asked from behind me.

I turned around to find him also wrapped in a blanket. Which meant, he was also probably wearing only underwear underneath it. I felt a blush make its way onto my face as I shook my head. He sat down with his back to mine.

"I won't look," He muttered as if he could tell how tense I was.

"I know," I replied in a quite voice.

"They're getting the last of the prisoners out. We'll have to wait a while before you're good enough to head home." He said after a while of silence.

"You also need to warm up," I informed him.

"I'm fine," was his simple response.

"You're just as likely to suffer from hypothermia as I am," I muttered.

"Tch. You're the idiot that fell in the water and drowned in the first place." He retorted.

He did it again. Ever since he came back, he's treated me coldly. I didn't know what I expected after we kissed, but I certainly wasn't expecting him to treat me like he was. It was as if I meant nothing to him.

"Why..." I whispered.

"What?" He questioned as he looked over his shoulder at me.

"Why do you keep saying things like that to me. Why are you pushing me away?" I asked as tears fell down my face.

His eyes widened in surprise as if it was the first time he noticed how cruel he had been. I buried my face in my hands as I tried to muffle the sobs that escaped my throat. Pikachu rubbed his head against my hands as an act of comfort.

"I-I just thought, it would be different. After that day." I choked out.

I heard him shuffle behind me and without a word his arms were wrapped around me from behind.

"I'm sorry," He said with his face buried in my hair.

"I've never been serious about a girl. I didn't know how to handle you, so I pushed you away." His grip on me tightened at his words, as if he was afraid to let go.

"It was wrong of me. I didn't mean to hurt you." He whispered in my ear.

"So, you're serious about me?" I asked amazed by his words.

"Hm," He answered obviously embarassed. That meant yes.

"So, does that make you my boyfriend?" I questioned feeling brave and hopeful.

"I'd like to be," He muttered, I was sure he had a slight blush on his face and I quickly turned around to find I was right.

"I would like that too," I said as a smile made its way onto my face.

He reached forward and wiped the remaining tears from my face.

"Smiling suits you best," He said as he leaned in and pressed his lips against mine.

My arms reached around his neck to deepen the kiss, causing my blanket to fall, and I realized I was half naked. I let out a shriek as I pushed him away with a blush on my face. I quickly reached down and pulled the blanket back over me. Brian was looking away with his wrist covering his face to hide his faintly pink shaded cheeks.

"I didn't see anything," He assured me.

I'd never seen the Brian I was seeing at that moment. He always had a cold and intimidating aura about him, but in that instant he was different. I found that I liked seeing these different sides of Brian. I wanted to see more of them, I wanted to see every side of Brian. Those certain sides of him that he hides from everyone else. The sides of him that make him vulnerable. I wanted to be the only person he showed those sides to. Was that selfish?

"Geez, I didn't leave you in here so that Brian could sneak in here and steal your innocence." April yelled as she appeared in the cabins door way.

"T-that's not even what's happening!" I yelped.

"If I knew being frozen to the bone meant being half naked in a room with the girl you like, I would've pushed April in a frozen lake ages ago." Oliver said from behind her.

"Shut up you pervert!" April shouted as she turned around and smacked him in the head.

"What's that pervert doing to innocent Kate?" Caleb shouted as he too appeared in the door with a very confused Steven trying to calm him down.

"How annoying," Brian sighed next to me.

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my mouth at the scene before me. My friends were all very strange, each in their own way, but they put me at ease. I couldn't imagine a life without all of them in it.

* * *

><p>After Brian and I were able to warm up a bit more, we piled on the clothes and readied ourselves to head back to base.<p>

"The rest of you go back to base, I was asked to bring Kate to Main Base." Steven said as we all stood outside the cabin.

I froze in place with Brian right next to me. He glared hard at the ground and an angry expression crossed his features.

"Why?" I asked.

"No clue, just following orders. Though it might have something to do with that little stunt you pulled." He said with a fake smile, that told me he was still mad that I ran away.

I guess I had never really thought about the consequences of my actions. Were the leaders angry? Were they planning on kicking me out of The Resistance? I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. I had to beg them to let me stay no matter what.

"What about us? We were with her." April said.

"My orders were only Kate," Steven said.

"Well lets get this over with," Brian muttered.

"You're coming too?" I asked him.

He looked over at me as if I was stupid for even asking.

"As if I'm going to leave you with him," He replied as he jerked his thumb toward Steven.

"Good luck coming along lover boy. With a rude remark like that, no way I'm letting you ride Salamence." Steven huffed.

"As if I need your Pokemon. Kate's riding with me," Brian said as he pulled out a pokeball and released his Charizard.

What? Was he crazy? Did he despise Steven enough to risk killing us all with that violent Pokemon? However, much to my surprise, Charizard didn't attack anyone. As soon as he was released he spit an ember on the ground and looked around as if he was disappointed there wasn't going to be a battle.

"Y-you trained Charizard?" I whispered over to him.

"Ah," He confirmed.

"Fine, ride your Pokemon. Just meet me there. Though I'm not sure the leaders will be happy you're coming along too." Steven muttered as he sent out his Salamence and rode away. Charizard looked at the Pokemon fly away with a spark in his eyes that said he wanted to challenge it. He then looked down at Brian with a bored expression.

So is wasn't like he was completely trained, he was just like Glaceon. He lacked respect for his trainer, but realized if he wanted to be used in battle, he had no choice but to obey.

"I'm not getting on your crazy Charizard," I stated.

"Scared?" He mocked.

"Yes," I said as Charizard gave me a look of amusement. Pikachu let out a low growl, obviously not scared of the much larger Pokemon.

"Are you coming, or are you going to walk off this mountain," Brian asked as he motioned for Charizard to lean down so we could get on.

Seeing no other option, I started walking toward them.

"Hey," April stopped me by grabbing my sleeve.

"Watch out for the leaders, I've heard bad things." She whispered in my ear as she released my sleeve.

I nodded to her as I walked over to Charizard and grabbed Brian's hand so he could pull me up. Once I was seated behind him and wrapped my arms around him, Charizard took off with intense speed.

When we arrived at the main base, located in the Johto region, Steven was already there waiting for us. We then followed him inside and he lead us to a large conference room. Once inside I was greeted with a row of eight tables, each of which had a person behind it. They were all extremely old looking, I couldn't help but wonder what The Resistance was thinking letting a bunch of ancient people lead them.

"You can leave us," One of them said to Brian and Steven.

Brian glared as Steven shoved him out of them room leaving only Pikachu and me with the leaders.

"We've heard a great deal about you Miss Leaf," the only other female in the room said to me.

I couldn't help but cringe under her sharp gaze. She almost looked like a wicked witch.

"I-is that so?" I asked sheepishly.

"Indeed, like when you saved Brian Dean from those Steelix."

"When you were kidnapped by Team Moondusk, but managed to escape all on your own." Another leader said.

"And managed to burn down their entire camp." A different voice stated.

"Also burning down a forest," An angry voice piped in.

"But risking your own life to save the wild Pokemon there," a kinder voice added.

"We also heard about how you helped find the missing Stone of Shadows." The wicked witch said.

"But managed to get yourself kidnapped and lost it anyway," The angry voice shouted again.

"But also saved Brian Dean when he was attacked from behind." She countered.

"Then you went and solved a mystery in a small town, rescuing all those lost children."

"Let's not forget your most recent adventure. You disobeyed an order and took it upon yourself to break into a high security prison risking not only your life, but that of your friends you involved, all for a little girl." Mr. Angry Voice spoke up even louder, making me cringe once again.

"Wow, you guys sure did your research." I said hesitantly.

"We've been watching you for a very long time." A calmer old voice said.

How long exactly was a very long time? I had been with The Resistance for around a year, but part of me knew they meant longer than that.

"After some thinking we've all made a decision," The witch woman said as she looked down at me.

I tensed up as I waited for my punishment. What was I going to do if I got kicked out? Or maybe they would lock me up somewhere? Or perhaps banish me to a far away place. With so many thoughts running through my head I almost missed it when she finally spoke again.

"We're making you a top member."

"Wait, what?" I managed to spit out.

Well I certainly wasn't expecting that. Why in the world would they make me a top member? I wasn't any where close to being good enough. There were so many incredibly strong trainers out there that I as sure would be a better fit than me. I wasn't ready for that. I knew my team had a long way to go before I could handle it.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline that," I said softly.

"I'm no where near good enough to be trusted with such a high position. I'm not ready for something like that."

"You misunderstand what we're saying. It's not optional." She said in an angry voice.

At this point I couldn't even respond, I was so shocked. I didn't have a choice? Since when? Last I checked, The Resistance was based on volunteers.

"Excuse me?" I asked hoping maybe I heard wrong.

"I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter."

"Last I checked, I most certainly do! You can't force me to do anything!" I yelled as I felt anger start to replace the shock.

"You know Miss Leaf, you have a lovely family. It would certainly be a shame if something happened to those parents of yours."

"Is that a threat? Are you seriously threatening me?" I was in a state between complete rage and disbelief.

"Pika!" Pikachu chimed in also filled in with anger.

"You wouldn't dare!" I screeched at them.

"We have a way of getting what we want. Mr. Dean knows that well." She said with a smile filled with hidden secrets.

They were threatening Brian? He wasn't a top member willingly? Did they hurt someone he cared about? Who else have they been threatening? I had no idea The Resistance was so corrupted. I felt my fists shaking at my sides.

"You can't do this! You can't..."

"We can, and we are. You'll have your first mission within the week. For now, you may leave." And with that, I was escorted out of the room by two very large Machoke.

"Hey, what did they say?" Steven asked as soon as I found them in the lobby area.

I couldn't answer him. There were so many thoughts going through my head.

"Kate?" Brian said as he put his hand on my shoulders that I didn't realize were shaking until that moment.

A hot liquid burned at my eyes but I refused to let any tears fall. I blinked them away as I looked up at my most important person. Who were they using against him? I figured at this point it would easily have been me, but how did they get to him before I came along?

"It looks like, I'm a top member now." I finally said, leaving me looking at two very shocked, and very angry faces.

* * *

><p><strong>Those are some evil old people. But Kate and Brian have made it officially official. :P It's only going to get more intense from here so stay tuned and leave a review!<strong>


	36. Preparations

"What the hell do you mean?" Brian asked in an extremely angry voice after hearing what I'd just told him.

"Why are you raising your voice at me? It wasn't my choice!" I bit back.

"Not your choice?" Steven questioned.

I paused for a second. "I tried to say no, but I guess you could say they're very persuasive." I said as I stared at the ground with a frown.

They both stared at me for a minute as what I said registered in their minds.

"They threatened you," Brian figured it out as his fists clenched at his side.

I nodded my head and with that he stormed toward the doors I just came from. Steven and I quickly followed after him unsure of what he was going to do.

"What are you playing at?" Brain demanded as he entered the room.

"It's common courtesy to knock before entering a room." The witch-like woman said as Steven and I entered behind Brian.

"Cut the crap, what do you gain by making Kate a top member?"

"Who said there was something to gain? We are just admiring her abilities as a trainer."

Brain said nothing as he just glared at the wicked woman before him.

"What's the matter Brian, upset that we figured a way around your little rebellion?" She mocked with an evil laugh.

"Rebellion?" I whispered over to Steven.

"They used to force Brian to do their dirty work by threatening the only person he cared about, that was Oliver. However, thanks to some training, Brian helped Oliver to be strong enough to protect himself. With no one else to threaten, they had no way to blackmail him. So after that, Brian only did the missions he wanted. Though after that I can't figure out why he even stayed in the resistance. I guess he just loves what he does." He whispered back.

"So you're forcing Kate to do dangerous missions because you know I'd go with her to protect her, indirectly making me do them. Smart." Brain concluded with his hands stuffed in his pockets. His anger seemed to disappear almost immediately as he accepted that they had won.

"Your words, not ours." She replied.

He let out a small chuckle as he turned around, grabbed my hand, and dragged me out the door.

"Don't think I'm going to let you get away with this," he warned with a glare over his shoulder as we made our way out the door. I had almost forgot just how menacing Brian could be when he's mad.

"That's it?" I asked as we left the building with Steven behind us.

"What do you want me to do?" He questioned as he turned around to look me in the eyes.

"I don't know! Something! You're just going to let them use me to use you?" I felt so useless in that moment, as if I were nothing but a nuisance in Brian's life.

"It wouldn't be the first time they blackmailed me. We'll just have to deal until we can find a way out of it." He shrugged. I was sure he was talking about Oliver, but the difference was they weren't threatening my life, it was my family I was worried about.

"This is so messed up!" I yelled at the building behind us in frustration.

"Calm down, you're annoying when you're loud." He said as he flicked my forehead.

"Ow," I muttered.

"So what now?" Steven asked as he joined in the conversation as I rubbed my head.

"Well I know exactly where they plan to send us, so I guess we prepare." Brian stated nonchalantly.

"Where?" Steven and I asked.

* * *

><p>"Why would they send us to compete in some Pokemon battling competition?" I questioned Brian the next day as I followed him into the conference room as we finally made it back to our base.<p>

"This is why," He said as he turned on the large screen hanging on the wall bringing up a news report.

A very beautiful blonde woman was talking "According to our sources, it has been rumored that Team Moondusk plans to make an appearance at this years annual Pokemon Battle Royale. Apparently they plan to get their hands on this years grand prize, which has yet to be revealed to the public. Despite this, they say the competition will still continue and are not planning on having any extra security. It is unknown whether or not the resistance will be making an appearance as well."

I stared at the screen in confusion. It didn't really make sense for Team Moondusk to be interested in something like that, and even if they were, why would they announce it? It was as if they wanted the resistance to make a move.

"It's a trap," Steven stated.

"Of course it's a trap, my brother is playing us." Brian replied sounding annoyed by the whole thing.

"So how do you know that this is what the leaders are going to send me to?" I questioned.

"Because I already turned them down when they told me to go a week ago. Guess I don't really have a choice anymore." He said with a shrug.

"So Damon wants Top members, and he knows that that's exactly who the resistance is going to send. But why are the leaders sending us into an obvious trap?" I asked as all the confusion gave me a headache.

"Because Damon has something they want." Brain said as he glared intently at the screen with the news report still running.

"You think Alec is going to be there?" I glanced over at Steven as he asked, and then turned my attention back to Brian as he responded.

"Without a doubt."

* * *

><p>We made our way outside to the training grounds where we met up with April, Oliver, and Caleb and filled them in on all that happened.<p>

"So what's the plan then?" April questioned.

"Unfortunately for us, the idiot who runs the competition doesn't want anything to do with the war, and because of that he's refused our help." Brain said as he pulled out a flier for the competition.

"This means the only way we're getting in there is to sign up ourselves." He finished as he handed me the flier.

I wasn't completely aware of how the whole Battle Royale worked. All I knew was that it's a competition held once a year where trainers ride on their Pokemon, and are put in a huge arena where they battle it out, last one standing is the winner. Since you ride on your Pokemon it's easy to see how it could be dangerous since you're right in the middle of the fight.

"Isn't that a little dangerous?" April asked from over my shoulder as she read the flier in my hand.

"Extremely." Oliver replied with a frown as he too stared intently at the piece of paper I held in my shaky hands.

"And we have to go in there?" I asked as I felt a pit in my stomach.

Brian gave me a weary look. "Yeah, you and I are going in while the rest of you keep an eye out from the outside of the arena." He said as he looked at everyone else.

"Why are we all staying out? Wouldn't it make more sense for all of us to go in?" Caleb countered.

Brian shook his head. "If Moondusk really is there to steal the prize, then we need people outside the arena in case there's an attack. The leaders are going to force Kate to partake in the competition so that she can gain access inside, I'll go with her to make sure she doesn't get herself killed." He gave me a pointed look as he said this.

"Trust me, if I could avoid any of us going into that arena I would." He muttered with a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair.

I felt my hands shake as my grip on the flier intensified. What was I going to do? I could easily get killed in that arena. Why anyone actually willingly took part in that brutal competition was beyond me.

"Are you alright?" April whispered over to me.

"Yeah," I said with the best grin I could muster.

Clearly she wasn't fooled but she let it go.

"So this means we have two days to teach Kate how to ride a Pokemon." Steven said as he looked at me with a frown.

"Huh?" I choked out as I glanced over at him.

"It's a competition in which you ride on your Pokemon, or did you not pay attention to that part?" Brian mocked as he bumped me on the head.

"Ow," I muttered as I rubbed my now sore head.

"Arcanine is your only Pokemon big enough to ride, right?" Caleb helped.

"I guess so," I said as I tried to picture myself riding on Sandslash's back, and cringed at the idea of sitting on those spikes.

With that said I released my Pokemon and explained the situation to him. Arcanine seemed okay with the idea of letting me ride him, the real challenge was not falling off. It seemed simple enough at first, but I soon found it to be a difficult task.

"Why don't you try actually holding on this time?" Brian mocked as I climbed onto Arcanine's back after falling off for the fourth time.

"I think what he means to say, is that maybe you should try to find a better grip?" April said to me as she watched me with worried eyes.

"No, I meant what I said." He stated looking bored as he sat on a rock with his elbow on his knee and his head resting on his hand. He was just pouting because I told him I didn't need his help, but maybe I did.

April sent him a long glare, "You're not being very helpful." She growled. "Don't listen to him, just try again," she whispered to me with a smile.

I nodded my head as she backed away. I grasped onto Arcanine's fur "Let's go again," I told him and with that he started forward and surprisingly, I managed to hold on this time. However, it was short lived. We were coming up on a tree and I panicked as I forgot to lead Arcanine into a turn, since I gave him no direction, he turned on his own causing me to be thrown in the opposite direction and onto the ground with a thud.

"Oh, that had to hurt." I heard Oliver mutter causing Steven to let out a small chuckle.

I managed to stand back up and glare at them. "Well I'm glad my failure is so funny to you, I'm sure it'll be extra funny when I fall in the arena and get tramped to death!" I seethed causing both to flinch.

"Stop being so dramatic," Brian said as he finally got up from his spot on the rock and made his way over to me.

He stopped fight in front of me and looked me over. "I think you've given yourself enough bruises today. Shall I teach you how to do it properly?" He whispered the last part in a low voice as he leaned in closer to me.

I felt my face heat up with his nose only an inch from mine. "Y-you know how to ride an Arcanine?" I asked as I turned my face from his.

"Of course I do," he said as he finally leaned away. "I am me," he said with a smirk.

Sometimes it felt like he got a real kick out of standing there like a lighthouse shining his ego on everyone. I rolled my eyes at his comment.

"Alright then Mr. Showoff, teach me." And boy did he teach me. Brian was able to ride Arcanine with such grace it looked like he'd been doing it his entire life. We rode around with him sitting behind me, leading Arcanine with ease.

"Are you ready to lead?" He asked from behind me.

"I don't think..." I trailed off feeling unsure of myself.

"It won't work unless you put your trust in your Pokemon. You trust Arcanine right?"

"Of course!"

"Then trust that you can do this." With that said he let me take control and this time I wasn't afraid of being thrown off.

I could feel a sense of trust between me and my Pokemon. Arcanine looked back at me and I could see a shine in his eyes that said I could do this. As we neared a tree instead of panicking again, I tilted my body to the right and Arcanine followed my movement and made a right turn around the tree. I looked back at Brian with a smile and he nodded his head. Without warning he got up and jumped off of Arcanine.

"What are you doing?" I gasped.

"It's all you now!" He shouted after me as he stood up and gave me a wave.

We ended up running into the forest and I found myself easily maneuvering around the many trees. I let out a small laugh at how simple it had become. I couldn't believe that the reason I struggled was because I doubted my Pokémon. I leaned forward and put my hand on Arcanine's neck, a sign telling him I was sorry. He replied with a howl and he picked up his speed. Before I knew it we were clear of the forest, I had almost forgot just how fast Arcanine was. I quickly turned him around and headed back to the base.

When we made it back everyone was gathered around waiting for us.

"I'm not sure what's more impressive, how quickly you managed to get it, or the fact that Brian is the greatest rider I've ever seen." April said as she ran over to me.

I climbed off of Arcanine with a laugh as I saw the look on Brian's face from her comment. As if his ego could bet any bigger.

Steven smiled down at me "Keep that up and no one in that arena will even be able to catch you."

Brian walked up and for a second I thought he was going to bump my head again, but instead he gently patted my head. "Good job Kid," he said with that rare smile.

Later that day I got the call from the main base that my mission was indeed to take part in the Battle Royale. I spent the next two days practicing my riding and preparing for the big competition. I felt ready, but who knows, anything could happen in that arena.

* * *

><p><strong>Wow I'm sorry that it took me months to do this update. I've actually had it ready for a while but life has been kind of hectic lately. On the bright side the next update is already done! Thanks to those who have still stuck around with this story after all this time, it means a lot :)<strong>


	37. Battle Royale

"Well, this is it." April said as we walked through the gates and into what looked like a street fair. As soon as we walked into the gate we were met with nothing but stands of people selling everything from t-shirts and coffee mugs to snow globes, pocket knives, and even sparklers.

"This is kind of... disturbing." Caleb muttered as a strange man tried to sell him a shirt that had an Onix biting into a Rapidash with the words Battle Royale written across it.

I felt my face pale after looking at the shirt, but before I had a panic attack I felt a firm hand grasp mine. I looked over to find Brian next to me, but his gaze was fixed the other way as if showing affection were embarrassing. Despite his obvious embarrassment I smiled as I whispered over a thanks and in response he gave my hand a light squeeze.

After we walked passed all the booths we found a split in the path with a sign indicating that spectators were to go right and participants go left.

"I guess this is where we split up," I said as I looked at my friends. Pikachu eyed me wearily from April's shoulder, almost begging me to take him with me.

"Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, and be careful," Steven said as he stared us down.

"Same to you," Brian replied.

April stared at me hard before she walked up slowly and pulled me into a hug. "Be careful in there."

"I will," was all I could say in response as I hugged her back tightly, as if I let her go then I'd never see her again.

I reluctantly let go as Brian pulled my hand and led me away. I let out a shaky sigh as I walked beside him.

"Hey, you know I'm not going to let anything happen to you, right?" He said as he looked over at me.

I returned his gaze and saw the seriousness in his eyes. "I know."

We were able to sign in with an hour to wait around for the competition to start when someone caught my eye.

I was frozen on the spot and reached over to tug on Brian's shirt. He gave me an annoyed glance before looking down at the panic on my face and following my gaze to the person standing about twenty feet away and staring intently at us. He instantly stiffened as a smirk made its way onto Alec's face. Why was Alec here?

Of course we figured that Alec would show up, but it didn't occur to us that he would partake in the competition. I had a feeling that the leaders knew that he would participate and that's the exact reason they wanted Brian to be in it. The question was, would Brian be able to stop Alec? I glanced over to Brian to find his face had turned into a glare. The fear he felt last time he saw my brother didn't seem to be present on his face. There was a new confidence that I hadn't seen on him before.

"Well look what we have here," a deep voice said from behind us.

We turned around to find a rather large man standing behind us with a wicked smile on his face.

"I didn't know they let girls take part in this competition." He mocked as he gave me a once over and licked his lips as if he liked what he saw.

"Well they let you in didn't they?" Brain mocked and the man's gaze immediately turned to him.

"What'd you say punk?" He asked as he grabbed Brian by the collar of his shirt.

"Hey, you know the rules. No fighting back here. Save it for the arena!" A man in a bright orange security shirt yelled.

I let out a sigh as the large man let go of Brian. "I'll see you in the arena." He said as he walked away.

"Are you crazy?" I exclaimed as soon as the man was gone.

Brian was quiet as he fixed his shirt before looking over at me as if I were dense, "Should I have just stood here as some creep stared you down like a piece of meat?"

I didn't reply as I remembered Alec and looked back to where he was standing only to find he was no longer there.

Fifteen minutes before the start of the competition they led us to the arena, which was a lot larger than I thought. It was a huge dome that held a large forest terrain. Over the dome was what looked to be an electric force field, most likely to keep those riding flying type Pokémon from flying too far. Much to my reluctance they were placing us in front of our own gate to enter the arena, and unfortunately for us, Brian and I were not placed next to each other. Also unfortunately for me, the gate to my right was none other than the large man from earlier. I glanced over at him to find him giving me a creepy stare as he licked his lips in anticipation. I shuddered as I pulled out Arcanine's pokeball. He was released with a howl as I walked over to run my hands through his mane.

"I'm a little scared," I admitted as I scratched behind his ear. He responded by rubbing his face against my shirt. I let out a smile laugh as he licked my face. "Yeah, I trust you." I said as I looked into his eyes.

I jumped as a loud voice came out of the speakers above me informing me it was time to mount my Pokemon. I quickly climbed onto Arcanine's back as I glanced over to find the large man sitting on a Lairon and giving me a sick look. I quickly looked away as I stared straight ahead in preparation. The plan was to take off to the forest and away from the gates, that's where the fighting would start, of course with Arcanine's speed it wouldn't be too hard.

I heard another voice but this one was not as loud and I could tell it was addressing the audience. I looked out toward the top of the dome and saw a large screen on the outside facing the audience. On the screen was a well dressed man who wore a large smile.

"Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the seventy ninth annual Pokémon Battle Royale! For those of you who are new, here are the rules. Every trainer rides on their Pokémon and battles amongst each other. If a trainer falls off their Pokémon and touches the ground, they're out and will be escorted out of the arena. If the trainer is knocked unconscious, they are out and will be taken from the arena. If the trainer should die, well I guess that's self explanatory. Of course we have judges to determine the questionable cases. All else is a free for all, and anything goes."

My grip on Arcanine tightened upon hearing the rules. Death? I didn't think they'd be so okay with someone dying, I guess that explained the waver we signed before hand.

"Now then trainers, are you ready?" As he asked this the screen flashed to the face of each trainer in the gates and I briefly saw Brian on his Charizard. So Brian would be in the sky, it wouldn't be too hard to find him. Then again, the arena was rather large and I had no idea where he was. I was so deep in thought I almost missed it when the announcer shouted "Go!"

The gate flew open and Arcanine immediately took off. The large man on his Lairon looked as if he was going to chase after me, but upon noticing how fast Arcanine was he decided against it and turned toward the unfortunate trainer on his other side. I heard a loud scream of pain right before we broke through the forest and swerved our way through the trees. I was able to lead Arcanine through with ease until I saw movement to my right. A dark haired guy riding a Dodrio rode up next to me with an evil grin.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing riding through here all alone?" He mocked as he rode in closer allowing the heads of his Dodrio to peck at Arcanine.

I let out a small yelp as Arcanine swerved to his left and I almost lost my balance. I quickly righted myself as the Dodrio ran back over to us. I let out a growl as the Pokémon once again started pecking Arcanine. I quickly pulled on Arcanine's fur and he immediately stopped running leaving the Dodrio still running ahead of us.

"Flamethrower!" I called out and with that Arcanine launched his fire attack at the unsuspecting Pokémon causing its trainer to fly off of its back and onto the ground with a thud.

"And Roy is down and out!" I heard the announcer yell as I looked up to the large screen to find the camera on me making sure to show off the guy named Roy in the background throwing a fit.

"Despite being one of the few girls in the competition, Kate Leaf and her Arcanine are putting up quite the fight!" He said as I pushed Arcanine on in hopes of avoiding the camera. As if I needed the announcement to all the other competitors that I already beat someone. Lucky for me, the camera quickly moved on to show some other trainers battling it out.

I looked up to the sky in search for Brian, but found it hard to see much through the trees. I pushed Arcanine further until I saw a break in the trees and looked up to see many Pokémon flying through the sky. They were moving so fast it was hard to really distinguish any of them. That is until a rather large Fearow flew at me through the trees in an attempt to knock me off of my Pokémon. I let out a gasp as I ducked out of the way at the last minute. Before the large bird could swoop at me again, a large fire attack knocked it and its trainer to the ground, putting them out of the contest. I looked up to see my savior and saw Brain on his Charizard hovering over me.

"Watch it," he warned as he took back into the sky.

"I had it!" I yelled after him as I once again started forward. I saw a clearing ahead and directed Arcanine toward it, of course being out in the open was a dumb idea, I had someone that I had to search for.

As soon as I made it into the clearing a girl riding a Tropius came through the other side. As soon as she saw me a panicked expression crossed her face. She looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. I could relate. Instead of fighting she quickly turned the other way only to be blasted off of her Pokémon by a flame. She let out a cry as she slammed into the ground and I winced. From the forest to my left emerged another girl on a Rapidash. She then focused her attention on me.

"Move!" I called to Arcanine and he quickly ran across the clearing with the Rapidash following after. I looked back to see the girl close behind with a look of determination. I could tell she was clearly set on taking me out. Rapidash sent out multiple fire attacks which I managed to avoid, but she quickly caught up to us and was running along side us. She then started kicking at me as her Pokémon continuously rammed into Arcanine in an attempt to knock me off. With a grunt I returned the action and rammed into her. Her Pokémon swerved a little before coming back over to us. Arcanine let out a growl as the Rapidash made its way back over powering up a take down attack which hit us straight on. Arcanine was knocked off of his feet and rolled over with me underneath him and I held on for dear life. As soon as he rolled back onto his feet he started moving again and looked back at me to make sure I was okay.

"Kate Leaf had a close call there, but because she didn't fall off of her Pokémon and managed to hang on, she is still in this competition!'"

I let out a sigh of relief as I gave a nod to Arcanine. The girl on her Rapidash seemed frustrated that I didn't go down and charged at us again.

"Not again, use extreme speed!" I said to Arcanine and at the last minute he used his speed to avoid the attack.

Since she missed her target, her Rapidash lost her footing and fell sending her rider to the ground. She glared at me as I stuck my tongue at her as I rode away.

"There aren't many riders left and it appears there's only two left in the sky!"

I looked up at the sky to find that there were in fact only two Pokémon left flying, both of which were Charizards. On one sat Brian and on the other was my brother. My jaw clenched in anticipation as the two stared each other down. Without warning Alec charged Brian who swiftly flew down to avoid him. Brian's Charizard launched a fire attack which Alec's Charizard countered with one of his own. It was easy to see that Alec's Pokémon was much stronger and his flame easily over powered Brian's. The attack broke through Brian's and slammed into his Charizard almost causing Brain fall off, but he managed to hang on. He quickly recovered and with speed flew across the sky with Alec following after. The two Pokémon danced across the sky exchanging attacks, but it was easy to see that Alec had the upper hand. Despite his disadvantage, Brian didn't back down.

My attention was averted back to the ground when I heard a noise next to me. I looked over to find the man on the Lairon had found me.

"Crap," I muttered to myself. We must have been the only ones left on the ground.

"How about after this, you come home with a real man?" I glared at him as Arcanine let out a low growl.

"Fire spin," that was all I needed to say. In a quick motion Arcanine launched a large tornado of fire at the Lairon. Before the attack even had time to hit, the man jumped off his Pokémon and ran to avoid the fire. The attack knocked out the Lairon in one hit and the man just sat in the dirt staring at his fainted Pokémon in disbelief.

"I will be." I said to him as Arcanine let out another growl that made him flinch.

As the man was escorted away I looked back up to witness, to my horror, the end of Brian's fight. Alec's Charizard released a powerful hyperbeam that Brian couldn't avoid and it hit his Charizard straight on causing a large explosion and a cloud of smoke. I let out a scream as I saw two figures come falling out of the smoke.

"Arcanine!" That was all I needed to say as Arcanine raced toward where they were descending.

Brain and his Charizard were both knocked out as they fell and Brian was no longer on his Charizard's back, meaning he was free falling directly to the ground. I was quickly able to tell that I would never make it in time.

"Charizard!" I screamed out to Brian's only hope. "Charizard, catch him!" I screeched out in desperation.

As if he heard my plea, Charizard's eyes snapped open and looked over to Brian. Knowing he had no time to open his wings and fly, Charizard instead reached out and pulled Brian against his body and wrapped his wings around him protectively. He then turned himself around to land on his back as he took the full impact of the fall as he disappeared in the trees.

We made it to the area where they fell to find Alec making his way toward them. Arcanine released a flamethrower and managed to hit the unsuspecting Charizard. With his attention now on me, Alec glared as I became his new target. Arcanine quickly took off in the opposite direction. His Charizard was faster than I expected and he easily caught up to us. Flying right above me, he reached down and grabbed my shirt in an attempt to pull me off.

"Let go!" I yelled as I struggled against him and Arcanine growled as he tried to hit them with a flamethrower, but couldn't from his position.

I had to do something and with some quick thinking on my part I leaned to the right and Arcanine turned and ducked right under a low hanging branch. I was barely able to duck under myself, leaving Alec and his Charizard no room as they slammed in the branch, breaking it in half, and sending them crashing to the ground. Arcanine skid to a halt as we looked back to find them standing up looking extremely pissed off. Of course just because they were out of the competition didn't mean they wouldn't still attack me. Alec really only entered to capture top members for Damon. Of course I wasn't quite sure if they knew I was a top member now, if anything I think they were going to attack me because I pissed them off.

However, before Alec could make a move toward me, a large machine made its way toward him to escort him out. Of course those machines were there to stop angry trainers from attacking after they lost. With an angry huff Alec hopped on Charizard and flew up to the top of the dome which he blasted a hole in and flew away. I let out the breath I'd been holding as I realized I was the last person in the arena, but my mind wasn't really paying attention to that. As I was let out of the arena only two of friends met up with me.

"Where's Brian?" Was all I could say as Pikachu jumped onto my shoulder from April's.

"They took him to a nearby hospital. Steven and Oliver went with him." April assured me.

"Is he okay?" I asked in a shaky voice.

April and Caleb both stared at me, unsure of how to answer. "I'm sure he'll be fine, he's Brian Dean after all." Caleb finally muttered to break the silence.

"What happened to you guys?" I questioned as I noticed their messy figures.

"Turns out they were going to try and steal the prize, as well as attack you and Brian." April said with a shrug. "But Steven and Oliver were here so it wasn't too terrifyingly dangerous." She added when she saw the expression on my face.

"Apparently the folks in the stand didn't appreciate being attacked, they were a big help too." Caleb added.

"As long as you're okay, I'm going to the hospital." I said as I ran off.

"What about your prize?" Caleb yelled after me.

"Pick it up for me!" I called back.

All I could do as I ran was hope that Brian would be okay.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay, I've been wanting to write this chapter since I thought it up a looooong time ago. So what did you think? Brian actually got his butt kicked! :o What will happen next? Stay tuned!<strong>


	38. Ready, Set, Pikachu?

I made it to the hospital and found Steven sitting in the waiting room with a sullen expression. He didn't seem to notice me as I stood there catching my breath.

"How is he?" I finally asked and his head shot up to look at me. I held Pikachu tightly in my arms as I waited for a reply.

After what seemed like an eternity Steven finally answered. "He's going to be okay. The impact from the explosion really did some damage, but they said he'll pull through with some rest. He was lucky."

I let out a sigh as my grip on Pikachu loosened. So he was going to be okay. That was incredibly good news.

"And Charizard?"

"He took some real damage, but he's a tough Pokémon."

I gazed around wondering where Brian's room was, even if Steven said he was okay, I had to see for myself. I looked around the room and then my eyes landed back on Steven to find him staring at me with a tired expression. He must have known what I was thinking as he nodded his head to the right. I nodded a thanks as I ran down a hall and easily found the room.

Oliver was sitting in a chair next to the bed and he turned his head to look at me when I walked in. He stood up, and gave me a small smile as he put his hand on my shoulder and headed for the door, closing it behind him. I turned my attention to Brian's still form laying on the bed. The only movement was from his chest as he breathed. He was connected to all sorts of machines and looked almost peaceful in a way. I slowly made my way over to the bed and sat down in the chair next to it.

"It's weird to see him like this," I whispered and Pikachu responded with a low "Pika," in agreement. I brushed some of his hair out of his face and noticed a few scratches. I didn't know what else to do so I rested my head on the bed and closed my eyes. Maybe when I woke up, he would too.

* * *

><p>I was woken up by a strange breeze and I reluctantly opened my eyes. The room was now covered in darkness indicating it was somewhere in the middle of the night. I looked over to the opened window and narrowed my eyes. It was closed when I fell asleep. After taking a quick glance at Brian it was obvious that he hadn't woken up. I quickly bolted up, completely awake as I turned around to find a figure behind me.<p>

Before I had time to make a sound I was grabbed by the throat and thrown against the wall. I bounced off and hit the ground with a thud. The noise woke up Pikachu, but it was too late. A Pokémon that looked to be an Ampharos paralyzed him. I stood up to face the intruder and could only see a faint outline of his face, but I already knew who he was.

"You can't take him. He's hurt." I tried to reason.

Alec stared me down, clearly not caring about Brian's condition.

"The Alec I know protects people. He puts everyone else before himself. Where is that Alec now?"

Alec's eyes seemed to glaze over from my words. Maybe there was still a way to get through to him after all. I used his distraction to grab my bag and pull out a pokeball.

"That Alec doesn't exist. I don't even know who you are." He finally said as if he had to force those words out. With that his Ampharos charged at me with a thunder punched.

"Sandslash!" I threw the pokeball in my hand and Sandslash appeared from the light. He thought quickly and stopped Ampharos's attack with his two sharp claws.

"Roll out!" I commanded and he tucked himself into a ball and slammed into the unsuspecting Ampharos, sending it through a wall.

That set off an alarm in the hospital and Alec quickly recalled his Pokémon. As he made his way to the window to escape I called out to him. "You're not going to get Brian. I won't let you."

Alec stared at me for a second longer, as if for that second he recognized me, but then he disappeared out the window. I let out a sigh as the adrenaline left me and I fell to my knees.

"What the hell happened?" A familiar voice asked. I looked over at the bed to find Brian slightly sitting up while holding his head. He scanned the now destroyed room before setting his eyes on me. "What did you do?"

* * *

><p>After the incident, which involved some very unhappy doctors and nurses, Brian was moved to a different room. He was now fully conscious, and I filled him in on all that had happened. Despite being a bit sore and having a major headache, he seemed to be doing fine.<p>

"So the great Brian Dean finally got his butt kicked." Oliver laughed as he came into the room.

Brian's eyebrow twitched as he turned to glare at his friend. "How about I kick yours." He threatened and Oliver quickly shut his mouth.

"Now that's something I'd love to see." April commented as she too walked into the room with Caleb and Steven following behind. Caleb had a small object in his arms and I looked at him curiously.

"What's that?" I questioned.

"This," he said as he handed it to me, "is your prize." I glanced down at the small light blue oval shape in my hands.

"A Pokémon egg?" I held the egg up as I looked it over.

"What's so special about a Pokémon egg that would make Damon want to steal it?" I asked Steven.

"I guess that all depends on what's inside." He replied with a shrug.

"Well considering there were only a few grunts after it, he didn't seem too interested in it." Oliver stated.

"We all know what he was really after." Brain said as he glared at his hands.

"And it was thanks to Kate that he didn't get it." Steven said as they all turned to look at me.

"Well, if not for that giant machine I'm sure Alec would've torn me apart." I said sheepishly.

Brian let out what almost sounded to be a snort. I turned my gaze on him to find he looked to be deep in thought. It wasn't hard to tell that something was really bothering him, and I had a feeling I had to do with his loss to my brother. I wasn't sure if the rumors were true that he had never lost a battle, but I knew for a fact that if he had ever lost it was a really long time ago. He wasn't used to losing, and it was easy to see that his loss to Alec had really bruised his ego.

* * *

><p>Two days later, Brian was deemed well enough to leave the hospital, but was told to rest for at least a week until he had fully recovered. Unfortunately, this was Brian we were talking about. We were back at base and I couldn't seem to locate my boyfriend.<p>

"Have you seen Brian?" I asked Cal as I wandered the base looking for him. Pikachu had opted out of the search and instead chose to stay with the egg.

"Don't tell me he's out of bed again?" Cal said with a sigh, and I nodded my head.

"That kid is as stubborn as a Tauros." He said as he went to his computer and pulled up the security monitors.

I looked over his shoulder at the many screens trying to find Brian in one of them.

"There he is, at the training ground." He said as he pointed to a square that showed Brian training with his Pokémon.

"That moron," I muttered as I turned away and headed toward the training grounds.

"Go easy on him, he's injured!" Cal yelled after me.

"Oh he will be." I muttered to myself as I stormed away.

I found Brian with his Charizard and Tyranitar. The two Pokémon were battling it out and he was directing them. Not only was Brian pushing himself, but Charizard had also not fully recovered. I watched as Charizard charged toward Tyranitar, he then swung his long tail, but Tyranitar caught it. Tyranitar took Charizard's tail and used it to throw him over his head, slamming him into the ground. Charizard let out a roar of pain on impact and couldn't seem to stand back up.

"Charizard you're not focusing enough. If you were taking this seriously you could easily have gotten out of his grasp. You're stronger than that, so get up and do it again!" Brian yelled to his Pokémon. Charizard stared at Brian for a minute before he slowly stood back on his feet.

"What are you doing? Charizard saved your life! How can you say that to him?" I said as I walked over to Brian.

He turned around to look at me "That's not going to get him sympathy from me. I don't give any of my Pokémon special treatment. The fact is, Charizard lost." He said in a cold voice.

I had never seen this Brian before. Sure he was always kind of mean, but this Brian had a cold look in his eyes, one that I didn't recognize as MY Brian.

"Don't you think you're pushing him too hard? He's still injured, maybe instead of yelling at him, you could encourage him for his hard work." I said as I reached out toward Brian only for him to smack my hand away.

"That's the difference between us," He said as he eyed me with his icy stare. "I'm not weak like you!" He yelled.

My eyes widened at his outburst. He wore a shocked expression of his own as if he hadn't meant to say it, but the damage was already done. I was now pissed.

"Would you drop that stupid attitude! Just because you lost, that's no reason to act this way! Everyone loses sometime! Heck, you beat me all the time, but I don't get all prissy about it! You and your giant ego! If you weren't injured I'd hit you!" I shouted at him.

He stared at me for a minute and to my surprise a ghost of a smile flashed on his face as he closed his eyes and let out a breath.

"You really are an idiot sometimes," he said as he opened his eyes. The cold gaze was no longer there, but was replaced with his usual placid nature. "I wasn't upset because I lost." He explained. "Everyone loses sometime, because there's always someone better." He simply stated.

"So, then why were you upset?" I questioned.

He reached to his belt, pulled out two pokeballs, and returned his two Pokemon. "It wasn't the fact that I lost. It was the person that I lost to." He said as he shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at the ground.

Alec? Of course that made sense. Brian had a real dislike for my brother. As I tried to think of why, a small memory flashed into my head. It was back when I lost Pikachu and was searching for him in the woods. I fell and hit my head, but Brian found me. He had told me a story, his story. The details were fuzzy, but I did remember when he talked about someone who betrayed him.

"Alec..." I whispered.

Brian lifted his gaze and set his eyes on me.

"Alec, betrayed you. Back when you told me the story about the one that broke your trust. It was him who used you?" I guessed. The look on his face confirmed it.

"You remember that?" He asked.

I shrugged, "Only bits and pieces of it."

"You're right." He said in a low voice. "The one person I want to beat the most, is the one person that I will always lose to." As he said this he walked toward the exit. I decided not to follow him, and just watched him leave with his shoulders slumped.

* * *

><p>"I'm sure he's fine," April said as she tried to comfort me after I told her about my conversation with Brian.<p>

We were sitting against the wall in the main room, watching our fellow base members go about their days. I sat with Pikachu on my shoulder as I polished my small Pokémon egg. I had grown quite attached to it in the past few days, despite the fact that it was just an egg.

"He didn't sound fine to me," I said with a sigh.

"I wonder what Alec really did to him?" She mused.

I couldn't answer. All I knew was Alec used Brian to get to Damon in some way. Brian must have really trusted Alec to hate him so much for it.

"What's with the low face?" Caleb question as he paused in front of me.

I looked up to find him staring down at me intently. "My life is a mess." I said in an irritated voice.

"Well I could've told you that." He said with a laugh and I glared at him. "How about we get your mind off of it?"

Now he had my attention. "What did you have in mind?" I asked.

His smile grew into a huge grin. "We never had that Pikachu battle."

I felt a grin of my own make its way onto my face. I looked at Pikachu perched on my shoulder and he had a look of determination.

"You're on," I challenged.

We soon found ourselves on a battle field facing each other with our Pikachu's ready to battle. I was surprised to find that Brian was no longer here training. Perhaps he finally listened to me for once and took a rest.

"I don't plan on going easy on you." Caleb said with confidence.

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" I replied.

He flashed a toothy grin. "Pikachu, use thunder bolt!" He said as he started the battle off.

That was a predictable attack. "Iron tail!" I countered. Pikachu easily jumped up and smacked the attack away then landed gracefully back on the ground. His Pikachu's attack must not have been that strong for Pikachu to smack it away as if it were nothing.

Caleb smiled, "Impressive strength, but that doesn't win a battle." He said, and with that his Pikachu used a quick attack.

"Use quick attack to dodge it!" Pikachu tried to dodge the attack, but his Pikachu was much faster, and slammed into mine.

I gasped in surprise as Pikachu hit the ground and rolled back. He then jumped back up and let out a growl. I had to admit, his Pikachu was scary fast.

I wonder just how fast it really was. "Pikachu, thunder bolt!" Pikachu shot attack after attack, none of which hit the other Pikachu. I growled in frustration. His Pikachu really could move, it was like a blur on the field.

"Now use quick attack again!" His Pikachu then rammed mine with such speed that it was hard to spot. I could do nothing as Pikachu was hit by attack after attack. Caleb's Pikachu finally stopped in front of him, looking proud. His attacks by themselves didn't do a lot of damage, but with so many consecutive attacks, my Pikachu was looking worn down.

"Volt tackle!" I ordered. Pikachu then ran toward Caleb's Pikachu at full speed, covered in electricity.

"Agility!" His Pikachu ran straight toward mine, but at the last second swerved around my Pikachu's attack.

"Pika?" Pikachu cried out in surprise as he skid to a stop. Caleb's Pikachu then used double team, and surrounded him. Pikachu frantically looked around trying to find the real one.

_"No way! How is his Pikachu so much faster than mine?" _I thought to myself.

"Instead of focusing on making my Pikachu stronger, I've worked with him on his speed. Strong attacks are pointless if they can't hit their target." Caleb said from across the field. His words gave me an idea.

"I disagree," I replied with a smirk. "Pikachu, iron tail on the ground." Pikachu jumped up and slammed his glowing tail into the ground causing the field to break apart, and more importantly, causing Caleb's Pikachu to trip and fall.

Caleb's eyes widened, but he quickly countered with a thunder bolt, exactly as I planned.

"Take the attack Pikachu!" I ordered. Pikachu looked at me questioningly, but remained in place. The attack hit him straight on, but it didn't do much damage, instead it gave Pikachu a nice power up.

"While speed is important, neglecting your Pokemon's power will do nothing but give your opponent the advantage." I said with a smirk.

"What!?" Caleb yelped in surprise.

"Now Pikachu, thunder bolt!" I called out.

"Pikaaaaa" He charged the attack at full power. "Chuuuuuuu!" With that he released all the stored up energy and hit Caleb's Pikachu directly, effectively knocking it out.

"That was amazing!" I told Pikachu as he jumped into my arms. "You're the best!"

Pikachu smiled at my praise as he squeaked out a "Pika!"

"I've got to hand it to you, you're good." Caleb said as he returned his fainted Pokemon to its pokeball.

"You're not so bad yourself." I told him.

He gave me a broad smile as April walked over to us.

"I didn't realize just how far behind you guys I am." She said with a frown. "That battle was good."

"I could train with you if you'd like. If Brian's training tactics worked on me, I'm sure they'd help you improve too." I offered.

"That would be great!" She said with a grin of excitement.

"That's going to have to wait." Steven's voice said. We all turned to find him walking toward us.

"Why's that?" I asked.

"The top members have all be called to main base." He answered.

"All of them?" Caleb questioned. Steven looked over to him and nodded.

"What for?" I asked as Pikachu scowled. He clearly hated anything top member related.

"Just a mandatory meeting." He replied with a shrug.

A mandatory meeting? I wasn't aware the top members ever got together at all.

"Brian's never left for one before," I commented.

Steven let out a small laugh as he said "That's because he never goes to them."

"But I thought you said it was mandatory," April inquired.

"It is, but Brian never goes. He basically does whatever he wants. I doubt we'll see him there." He stated with a shrug.

Caleb scoffed at that and rolled his eyes. It was probably for the best that Brian wasn't there anyways, he didn't seem like he wanted to be around people.

"Then let's go!" I said as I grabbed Steven by the arm and dragged him toward the exit. "See you guys later!" I told my friends as I left. It was strange that all the top members were called. However, the thought of finally meeting all of them was pretty exciting. I just hoped that whatever we were being called for wouldn't be too serious. I don't exactly need more stress in my life.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for the reviews guys! :) You'll meet all the top members in the next chapter! I'm sorry if this chapter took a while, I've been working on my other story. I promise I won't leave this story though, I will<strong>** finish someday! Well, until next time!**


	39. Meet the Top Members!

I flew to the main base with Steven, and I was filled with excitement. All the top members in one place, the best of the best. I wondered what they looked like, and if I'd fit in. But really, I just hoped they wouldn't hate me. As we landed Steven returned his Salamence. Pikachu squirmed on my shoulder in excitement. I gripped the straps of my backpack, that was holding my egg, tightly.

"Now there's one important thing you need to know before we go in," He said to me.

I looked up at his serious face and nodded my head.

"The only one's that know you were forced to be a top member are Brian, Oliver, Cal, April, Caleb, and myself. Let's keep it that way." He stated.

"What does it matter if the others know?" I asked out of curiosity.

"They all worked hard to get their spots as a top member. All of them earned it, and if they find out you didn't even want the spot, and you got it by association, they might not take well to you." He said with a frown.

I gulped as I thought what would happen if half the top members hated my guts. I made a personal note to not bring up how I got in. I then followed Steven into the building, he led me up a flight of stairs and into a large luxurious room. It was an open space that looked like it could fit a hundred people and not just the five currently in it. There was a large circular couch that took up a good portion of the front of the room, and looked more than spacious enough for the ten members that would sit on it. There was a large kitchen in the back of the room, most likely stocked full of food. Next to the kitchen there were ten computers each with a number one through ten above it. I was completely impressed. As soon as we walked in, every head turned. I immediately recognized Oliver who was sitting at the computer under the five. So that meant his rank was number five. I looked back at the couch to find four other members giving me strange looks.

"Who's the small fry with the rat?" A girl questioned in an intimidating voice. She had dark red hair that was tied up in a ponytail with bangs framing the sides of her face. She looked to be around my age, and despite the fact that her face looked to be locked in a permanent scowl, she was rather beautiful. Pikachu growled at her rude comment.

"You're picking them awfully young now, aren't you?" A deep voice mocked Steven. The man looked to be the oldest in the room, perhaps somewhere in his late thirties. He had brown hair that was shaved military style. He had a slight beard growing and his tank top really showed off his massive muscles. Steven smiled, but it was that fake smile he gave when he was mad.

"Actually, this lady belongs to someone else." He stated as he ruffled my hair.

"Quit it," I whined.

"Is she perhaps," a small girl started. "the new member?" The boy next to her finished. These two creeped me out a little. Despite clearly being opposite genders, they looked almost exactly the same. It was obvious they were twins. They looked like they were a little younger than me. They had brown hair, the girl's went down to her chin, while the boy's hung slightly in his face and went a little passed his ears, much like Brian's. They were even wearing matching outfits.

"That's right, we finally have a new number ten." Steven stated proudly.

"Well she doesn't look like much," the red head stated bluntly.

"Now you can't judge a book by it's cover." The muscular man stated as he walked over to me and held out his hand. "The name's Sawyer."

I reached my hand out to his and his strong grip practically crushed it. "Nice to meet you," I said as I clutched my now sore hand to my chest.

"I'm Mai!" The small girl chirped. "Tai," Her brother said after her.

"That grumpy sour puss over there is Rachael," Sawyer said as he jabbed his finger toward grumpy red head.

"I'm Kate," I introduced myself. "And this is Pikachu," I motioned to Pikachu on my shoulder.

Sawyer slapped my back. "Now that's a strong name!" He laughed. Now my back was as sore as my hand.

"Your Pikachu is really cute!" Mai said in a shy voice. "Pika!" He exclaimed as a thanks.

"You must be good, with Alec as your older brother, and being trained by Brian," Tai mused.

"I-I'm alright," I stuttered.

It was then that I noticed a line of pictures that I didn't see when I first came in. I walked over to the pictures and found they were pictures of all the members in order of rank. Alec was number one, he had a big smile on his face and I had almost forgotten what his smile looked like. I reached out and ran my finger down the picture, suddenly feeling down. Steven walked up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder in comfort.

"I think he'd be proud of you," He said over my shoulder. I smiled up at him as I moved on to the next picture.

Brian. Of course he wasn't smiling, but he was still just as handsome. I smiled to myself, there was a shine in his blue eyes that indicated, despite the lack of a smile, he was happy. The next picture was Steven, his smile was just as big as Alec's. I looked over my shoulder to find the same smile plastered on his face. I guess I was right when I thought Brian out ranked Steven, even still, I felt honored to be so close to the top three members. I moved on to the fourth and was greeted with Sawyer's picture. Just like Brian he wasn't smiling, but he still seemed happy. The fifth was Oliver. He had a grin so big it looked like it would jump out of the frame. I looked back over to him still typing away on his computer, he hadn't even noticed I was there. It was like he was in a whole different world.

Number six was Rachael, of course she wasn't smiling in her picture either, but there was no sign of happiness present. I could practically feel her glaring at me from behind, but I decided not to turn around. When I reached the seventh picture I was frozen. Just as I saw the picture, the person walked in. I whipped around to find Caleb standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"You!" I yelled at him.

He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head as he stood there looking sheepish. "Surprise," He muttered.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

"You never asked." He stated with a shrug. "It's not like I was keeping it a secret. It was recent and just not really something I brag about."

He had a point, I was suspicious for a while, but I never did ask him directly. Which means Brian, Oliver and Steven had to know. I looked at Steven and he shrugged. "It's not really my place to talk about other people's personal life," He said.

I sighed as I looked at the rest of the pictures, Tai was number eight, followed by Mai at number nine. The last frame was empty, my picture had yet to be placed.

"So what's this meeting about?" Sawyer questioned Steven.

Steven nervously scratched is cheek. "Unfortunately I don't know," He answered. They all looked at him with confused expressions. Noticing I had no idea why everyone was confused that he didn't have the answer, Steven decided to explain how things work.

"See usually the highest ranking member at the meeting is given a debriefing before hand, and then goes over it with the rest of the members, who then collaborate on making decisions." He explained.

"But you're not the highest ranking member here," Oliver said as he finally joined the conversation. He pulled a drive out of the computer he was working on as he walked over to join everyone else on the couch.

Everyone in the room had a surprised face as Brian came in the door. He sighed as soon as he saw everyone looking at him. "How annoying," He muttered as he walked into the room. As soon as he appeared, I noticed a change in Rachael's demeanor, she almost actually looked happy.

"What are you doing here?" Steven asked.

"Last I checked, I'm a top member." Brain replied as if Steven were an idiot for asking.

"And last I checked, you don't show up to these meetings. Something about them being an annoying waste of time?" Steven told him bluntly.

Brian smirked. That certainly did sound like something he'd say. "Maybe I had a change of heart," He stated as his gaze fell on me. I felt a blush creep onto my face. Everyone in the room instantly looked at me, then back to Brian.

"When you said she belongs to someone else, did you mean..?" Mai questioned Steven as she looked back at me.

"That's right. Kate and Brian. Cute aren't they?" Steven said with a big grin. Caleb rolled his eyes as Sawyer whistled in approval.

"What!?" Rachael screeched. I flinched from her outburst. "This is a joke right?" She said as more of a statement than a question. Well that basically confirmed my suspicions. It was more than obvious she had a crush on Brian.

"Oh get over it Rachael," Oliver said with a roll of his eyes.

She turned to glare at him for his comment. Brian sighed again as he went to the wall by the couch and pushed a button causing a large screen to appear from the wall. He nodded over to Oliver who put the drive he had in his hand into a computer. With some typing the image appeared on the screen. Well now I know what he was doing on the computer that whole time. It looked to be a map of the Sinnoh region. Steven and I made our way to sit on the couch next to Caleb. Brian had everyone's attention.

"Sinnoh is completely under the control of Team Moondusk. We lost Harthome City three days ago." He stated. Rachael, Sawyer, Oliver, and Steven didn't look like this was new to them, but the rest of us had shocked expressions.

"Well you know whose fault it is. If that pathetic shrimp didn't have half of our top members distracted playing babysitter, we could have stopped it." Rachael said as she glared at me.

I froze on the spot. Was that true? Brian, Steven, Oliver, and Caleb were all with me three days ago. I clenched my fists, it was my fault.

"It wasn't anyone's fault. We were on a mission given by the leaders three days ago. You can't exactly blame Kate for that." Brian stated as he glared at the redhead. She looked like she was going to say something else, but his glare shut her up. Although I could tell the fact that he defended me made her even more angry.

"The point is, something has to be done before they expand further. With Sinnoh completely conquered it's safe to say that Johto will be next, since it's already half way there." He said getting back on point.

"So what now?" Caleb asked.

"Well, we need intel, and the best place to get it is from someone high enough in their ranking."Brian answered.

"How are we going to go about that?" Steven inquired.

Oliver started typing away on the computer and the map zoomed in on Jubilife City.

"We've scoped it out before and found that Jubilife is the source of their commands. I'm guessing they have a pretty high ranking official giving the orders from there." He stated as he stared at the map.

"So, we sneak into the city and interrogate whoever's in charge. One problem, it's probably well guarded, how will we get in?" Sawyer finally spoke up.

"We'll split up. Team A will create a distraction in Floaroma Town, and Team B will do the same in Sandgem Town." As he said this, Oliver circled the two towns above and below Jubilife, on the map for a visual. "Neither town is well guarded so this will force them to send out reinforcements to each town from Jubilife, splitting up their forces. Team C will take that opportunity to go in and get the information we need."

"Not a bad plan, now I remember why you outrank Steven," Caleb commented, receiving him a smack in the head by Steven.

"So what are the teams?" I asked.

"Team A will be Steven, Tai, and Mai." He said and the three nodded in approval.

"Team B is Sawyer, Rachael, and Caleb. While Kate, Oliver, and I are Team C." He finished.

I could see Rachael was unhappy with that. "Of course you'd pair yourself with your girlfriend." She seethed. Oh boy.

If there was one thing you never did, it was question Brian's decisions.

"I picked the teams based on skill level. Tai and Mai are going with Steven because they balance out. With me being the highest ranking, and Kate the lowest, we even each other out. If you have a problem with my decision, you can sit out. I don't really care what you do either way." He told her with a fierce look. She huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest in defeat.

"There's one thing you all have to be cautious about. We know Team Moondusk is after top members, he's already gone after Brian a few times. By going out into Sinnoh we're practically waving ourselves in front of them for the taking. Watch each others backs and be careful." Steven stated. We all nodded in understanding. This was going to be the biggest mission I've faced, well aside from that prison break. One thing was for sure, I was going to show no fear. I was a top member, and I had to prove I could handle the position, no matter what.

* * *

><p><strong>So there you have it, all the top members! Sorry this chapter was a little short, but this was really just an introduction for them, you'll see more of their personalities eventually. But what do you think of them so far? Have a favorite? Stay tuned for the next chapter, because you're going to see just how bad Sinnoh has fallen!<strong>


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